Even if it was late already, Jisoo was still standing in front the castle ward instead of lying on her bed. Her head would glide to behind the door every once a while. She watched noiselessly as the physician of the Kingdom did his best job to stitch Jennie's wound. 

A while later, she saw the old man get up from his chair, mutter a few things to Jennie and step out from the room. The physician bowed when he found Jisoo soon after he closed the door. 

Jisoo mimicked him then. "Thank you for your asisstance" 

As the old man disappeared behind her, she entered the room. The sight of Jennie lying on the bed came to her eyes then. Making a few steps closer, she realized that Jennie was still wide awake. 

Jennie found her gaze first. "Hey"

"Hey" Jisoo placed herself on the stool where the physician had sat. "How are you feeling?"

"Not that bad" A weak smile brushed the Martian's face. "I have to be thankful that it is just my arm" 

"I didn't even hear you whine or grunt even once" 

"As a Martian, we must not cry because of such petty injuries. It is a sign of weakness" Jennie's eyes softened when she realized something. "You were waiting?"

Jisoo threw her stare to the flower vase on the bed table. "Don't misunderstand. My mother asked me to do so" 

Her reply did not get any response from Jennie, and Jisoo wondered if she had offended the girl. What she had just stated was, in fact, a total contradiction of what her heart had led her to do.

"I also want to come here to say thank you" She continued right away. "You got hurt in the first place because you were trying to keep us both safe"

"It's alright. I am glad that you are not wounded and that your family members are all well, too"

"My mother also sent an apology because she cannot be here to check on you. She is in an urgent meeting with all the senators and the millitary, discussing what just happened"

"When you see your mother again, tell her it's okay" Jennie gave her a reassuring smile. "Have you heard anything about what the attack might be about?"

Jisoo shook her head. "While they were escorting you here, I followed my family around. But every single one of them had their mouth shut when I asked anything about it. Then they went to the meeting room, closed the door and locked it before I got in" 

The aura on the Martian's face shifted into a gloomier one. "I hope it's not something terrible" 

"I hope so too" Jisoo put her attention back to the girl on the bed. "Are you going to stay here all night?"

"That's what the physician told me to do. He said it would be rather dangerous if something happens to the scar at night and it does not get immediate treatment" 

"Okay. I... Will be heading back to my room then" 

"Alright. I have to change my clothes too" 

The Venusian's eyes flew to Jennie's black dress, and only then she realized that Jennie was still in her ball outfit. She was still glued to the stool when Jennie suddenly got up to a sitting position. She bent her two arms backward, trying to reach something with her hand. A few seconds later Jisoo could see black laces untied and loosened on Jennie's back. The Martian was about to pull her dress downward when Jisoo stood up abruptly, making the stool wobble slightly. 

"W- What are you doing!?" 

Jennie stared at her as if she had never been so amused in her life. "Did I not say that I would change my clothes?"

"But your clothes are in your room!"

"Well, one of your maids has brought them here before you came. Didn't you say you would go back to your room?"

"Yes! Yes, I am going!"

Jisoo rushed out of the room, then, but Jennie managed to steal a glance at the girl's tomato face for a milisecond. Her lips formed a grin as she proceeded on taking off her dress, carefully as to not touch her injury.

***

It did not take overnight for the words about the attack to reach Mars. Queen Sandara had decided to delegate someone to send the news right away. It would be discourteous, after all, to let the Queen of Mars hear from somebody else that her daughter was hurt.

Queen CL herself had been enveloped in her blanket, and had been in the state of half-asleep when she heard a knock on her chamber door. There was rarely a knock on The Queen's door past her bedtime, for everyone rather feared her. 

"Who is it?" She inquired. 

"It is me, Phobos, Your Majesty" A male's voice came through. "I deeply apologize for having disturbed your sleep, but it is urgently important" 

It took a minute or so for the maroon door to be opened. Phobos knelt down as the figure of the Queen of Mars came to his sight. 

"What is the matter, Phobos?" The Queen's voice was rather muted, yet still domineering. 

"Your Majesty, a delegate from Venus just arrived and reported that there was an attack earlier in their planet. There was a ball going on where Princess Jennie was a part of, and our Princess was injured during the attack"

The expression of Queen CL was unreadable as it grew stern. Her lips parted slightly, however. 

"Princess Jennie was not terribly wounded they said, fortunately. The attack was in the form of flying arrows, and Princess Jennie got a long, deep cut on her right arm. She has got immediate treatment and was reportedly resting in the ward of their castle by the time the delegate departed"

"You can stand up now, Phobos" The Queen responded at last. The young man obeyed right away. "I had a hunch that there would be another attack soon, as the words have spread. But I did not expect for it to take place this soon. Not in Venus, at least" 

"I understand your point,Your Majesty" Phobos replied. "If they are really going to start 'that' soon, we are not fully prepared..." 

"At this point, I have no clue of what their next plan is going to be. I am afraid, we will never be fully prepared" 

"Your Majesty..." Phobos' expression fell into a deep distress. 

"Tell the delegate to send my gratitude for the Queen of Venus for letting us know. Tell him also that Princess Jennie is to come back here tomorrow as planned"

Acknowledging it as an immediate order, Phobos bowed down before exiting. The Queen of Mars then stared at the foggy, indigo sky. 

Grudge and revenge - the first leads to the latter, and both were inevitably the most awful and eeriest things to exist in the universe. 

***

"Are you still going back?"

"Huh?" 

Jennie had to alter her gaze from her breakfast, which consisted of bacons and sunny-side-up egg, to Jisoo after the girl's question came to her as a mumbling. That was her last day, and that was the first time and probably would be the last time Jisoo initiated to keep her company during breakfast. 

"I asked, are you still going back to Mars today?"

"Yes, I am. My mother ordered me so" 

"I see" Jisoo's tone dropped. She said no more then, afraid that she would no longer be able to hide her disappointment. Why she felt what she felt about their separation was a whole new science to her - unstudied and unrevealed. 

"Are you sad that I will be gone?" As if reading her mind, the Martian's lips presented a leer for her. 

"No!" Jisoo retaliated a second after, not able to look at her companion's eyes. "It's just that... I feel sorry that you have to end your trip here with a wound like that" 

Jennie paid a nonchalant look at her right arm. "Oh. It's nothing, you don't have to feel sorry about it"

"Does it... still hurt?" 

"Of course it still does, but it is alright. A cut like this is nothing to us Martians" Jennie answered while her brain recalled the countless times she had to toss in her bed and how much she sweated the previous night, all thanks to the stinging pain of the scar. 

"I hope it will not leave an ugly mark" Jisoo went on. "You know, speaking of injury, I'm also sorry for... Knocking your nose at the battle ground that day" 

"Oh, I thought you had thrown away your memory of that" The Martian's eyes rolled up. 

"I did not. I know what I did. I told you I am not as childish or stubborn as you probably think" 

"I was just joking" A chuckle escaped Jennie's mouth. "And don't worry. I actually feel like I am going home with good memories. Because of you" 

Jennie congratulated herself as she noticed that she had managed to make the Venusian blush again. If she could make an option, if she could rebel, if she could disobey her mother just for once in her life, she did not want to leave now. Not when she knew she could see this gorgeous, precious girl everyday if she stayed in this planet. 

She sighed secretly, and then tried to entertain herself that they would soon be married, so deep sadness was unnecessary. 

"We... We will see each other again soon, right?" Jisoo asked, taking the other girl slightly aback.

"I am pretty sure so" 

This time, the Martian gave her a sincere smile. Those charismatic eyes were fixated at hers, and even though this was not a staring contest, Jisoo lost. She always lost. Looking away, the Venusian's heart pounded faster and she felt the need to gulp. Jennie had always given her this same effect throughout the days since they met for the first time. 

A few minutes passed by without words exchanged. Jennie put down the knife and the fork before wiping with the napkin. A glass of fresh orange juice was provided in front of her, and she finished it slowly. 

"The Queen has arrived!" 

The yelling of a guard in front of the balcony rang through their ears. It did not take long for Queen Sandara to step in, to which the two girls responded by standing up. 

"Mom" Jisoo welcomed her mother casually with her smile. 

Her mom smiled back at her, then at Jennie. "Jennie, how is your wound? I am truly sorry for what happened. I have sent the word to your mother so you do not need to worry about explaining things to her again"

"It is fine now, Your Majesty. I am thankful as well that you took the trouble to let my mother know" 

"Please do not thank me, and please do not feel hesitate a lot to me anymore. You will soon be married to my daughter. I am seeing you as my own daughter already now" The Queen of Venus continued. "As of now, your ship is already waiting for you. I have given the order to the maids to take care of your belongings"

"Thank you for your hostility" Jennie bowed. 

"I am sorry that I should attend another meeting after this, but Jisoo will walk you to the ship. Will you, Jisoo?" 

Jennie glanced at the Venusian princess, and saw that Jisoo was keeping her face expressionless. Seconds after, though, she gave her answer while averting her gaze. "I am actually busy too but I don't mind" 

***

It was mostly a quiet walk for both of them, despite the praises for the trees and flowers given by Jennie as they passed by the Kingdom's gardens. Jisoo's orbs were glued to the path they were taking, answering the other girl with mere 'yeah' or 'uh-huh'. The closer they got to where the ship was ready to take Jennie back to Mars, the heavier her heart became. But again, pride dominated over all the other emotions she was feeling, and made her keep shut. 

"Am I not getting anything before I go home?" Jennie halted her steps as they alighted at where they had to part ways.

"What? I have agreed to your request to have a battle with me, I have also danced with you. I am not giving you any goodbye present, and it's not like we're not meeting each other again"

Jisoo waited for a reply from the other girl, but nothing came. She decided to meet the Martian's gaze, and found that Jennie was just staring back at her with a faint smile. The Venusian immediately shifted her focus to the ground again, not wanting to feel all the butterflies in her stomach at that moment. 

Then, all of a sudden, she felt a pull on her body, and before she knew it she had fallen into the Martian's embrace. Perhaps she had to be thankful that Jennie could not see her face, because she could feel it turning red soon after.

"I did not ask you to hug me! I didn't want to hug you either!" She yelled, but it seemed to fall on deaf  ears. Her arms hit Jennie lightly on the shoulders in an attempt to release herself from Jennie's arms. 

"Ssshh" Jennie whispered into her ears. "I am enjoying my temporary-farewell gift right now"

It slowly sank on Jisoo that her resistence was futile. Leaving her arms dangling, she let herself be wrapped in Jennie's warmth. By then she realized that Jennie was emanating something warmer than anyone she had ever hugged or let herself be hugged. The Martian broke the contact soon after and their eyes found each other almost naturally. 

"Thank you, Jisoo" Jennie said. The smile that always made Jisoo weak on her knees was still plastered there. "I will see you soon"

As amusing as it was to herself, the Venusian managed to keep the eye-contact for longer than five seconds this time. "T- Thank you, too. See you soon"

Jennie turned her back and made her steps on the stairs to the ship. The entrance was a halfway from her when she paused suddenly. Turning around, she discovered a Jisoo who was still dumbfoundedly looking at her. 

"Don't miss me!" With that, she winked fleetingly, and went on until she reached the last stair.

The door of the spaceship closed right after the Princess of Mars walked inside, blocking Jisoo from anymore sight she could get of Jennie. It was amusing, again, to her that even after the ship took off and the view was replaced by the astronomical gardens, she was still on her spot, somehow unable to move just yet. 

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Time and time again, I will always be thankful to those who like my work here. Comments never fail to fuse me with motivation. See you in the next chapter.