Prince Junmyeon stood at the doorway, looking angrier than she had ever seen in her life. He glared at the guard, who dropped to his knees.

“Your Highness, I caught this healer from the Fire Kingdom snooping around the library,” he explained, looking more and more nervous as the prince approached him. “I was just reprimanding her.”

The prince finally averted his gaze to Jaera, who was cowering a few metres away from the guard. In a flash, he was beside her and offered her a hand.

Instead of taking it, she backed off hurriedly with wide eyes.

“What did you do to her?” Prince Junmyeon asked quietly, turning back to the guard. “Do not make me repeat myself.”

When the man refused to answer, the prince lifted both of his hands. Jaera wondered what he was trying to do as he muttered under his breath and moved his hands in careful, practised motions.

The guard’s head snapped up. Then, his back straightened and his arms came up as if he was a scarecrow. Jaera noticed that his eyes were darting back and forth, scared, and his body had a mind of its own.

The library was silent, save for a few cracks from the guard’s disjointed movements and the soft murmurs from the prince.

After a few minutes, it became obvious that Prince Junmyeon was the one doing this to the guard. He was somehow controlling the movement in his body by waterbending. It was disturbing to see him stare blankly at the guard as he matched his movements with his hands.

It was only when the prince was out of breath when he stopped whatever he was doing.

“What was that?” she whispered.

Prince Junmyeon tore his gaze away from the limp man lying on the ground in front of him. “Bloodbending.”

Through the window, she could faintly see the full moon hidden behind some clouds. She gulped. “He will find out about your secret.”

“It does not matter. He will be dead soon, anyway.”

“You killed him?!”

Prince Junmyeon shook his head. “I will make sure that he gets the death penalty.”

Jaera did not know what to say to that. It was not as if she could stop the prince from putting the guard on the death penalty. She was grateful that he appeared just in time to help her, but she was also uneasy that he could just control a whole human being with his waterbending.

“Am I going to be punished for trespassing?” she asked in a small voice.

There was a long pause before he exhaled deeply. “No.”

He helped her onto her feet, but she still jumped when she came into contact with his cold skin. For once, they did not feel like ice cubes, as her own were cold and shaky. He stared at her with such scrutiny that she did not know where to look.

“How did you know I was in here?” she asked.

He scoffed. “That annoying prince of your kingdom could not stop blabbering to me after our meeting. He was going on and on about different types of plants. Then, I knew it had to be a stupid plan of yours.”

“It was not a stupid plan!”

“Your plan was on the basis that I was away from the royal library, and yet, if I was not here, something bad could have happened. I doubt that you managed to even find your answers.”

“And if I did?”

He groaned, probably wondering how she could so quickly snap back at him after almost being attacked. “It would not change a thing.”

Suddenly, there was a loud crash and Chanyeol appeared at the doorway. “Jaera? Oh- Prince Junmyeon.”

The prince tore his eyes away from the healer and let go of her hands. He inched away, careful not to accidentally step on the guard who was still unconscious. “Good evening, Prince Chanyeol. I cannot stay to chat now, so let me excuse myself.”

He exited the room, brushing past Chanyeol’s shoulder.

Chanyeol rushed over to Jaera, stopping suddenly when he saw the body on the floor. “Are you alright? What happened here? I should have come here right after Prince Junmyeon left our conversation, but I was stopped by some Earth Kingdom ministers.”

“Prince Junmyeon came right in time,” she said, motioning towards the guard. “Things could have been much worse. But on the bright side, I managed to find a cure to the prince’s illness. I need to speak to Madam Jung!”

“But she does not know about bending.” He frowned. “Jaera, you are the only one apart from the royal families who know that bending still exists.”

“Then I will have to speak to the Queen! Or even the King, if he is up to it! This is the cure!”

He stopped her. “You need to rest. You still look very shaken up over—what even happened just now? Prince Junmyeon looked quite mad.”

“That man attempted to, um, take advantage of me.” She did not know why she was feeling so embarrassed. “He did not get far enough before Prince Junmyeon came in and saved me.”

“He what?!”

“I do not wish to talk about it. It is embarrassing enough.”

“What kind of man would dare to lay his hands on a lady? A noble guard at that,” he scoffed. “This is going straight to the board of advisors. I want to pull you out of this team and bring you back to our Fire Kingdom as soon as possible.”

“Chanyeol! You cannot do that,” she pleaded. “I have already sacrificed so much to get this far. I even know how to cure the prince, though only in theory. Besides, Prince Junmyeon said the guard was going to get the death penalty.”

“Only in theory. That is not enough for me. I am pulling you out.”

Jaera’s eyes blazed in defiance, though she spoke with a strange calmness. “No. I refuse to return to the Fire Kingdom. My duty here is still not complete yet.”

“You dare disobey the prince?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you going to use that against me?”

“… no.” Chanyeol’s shoulders immediately drooped. “I would never control you, Jaera. I am just worried for you. Now that I know what Prince Junmyeon is capable of, you are especially in danger.”

“I trust him. We are.... friends,” she said, her fire dwindling. Now, there was mostly weariness. “Though, after this, I do not think he will want to speak to me again. I am grateful enough that I am not going to be punished for trespassing in the royal library.”

He rubbed his face tiredly. “Let us go to bed first. Whether the prince is angry or not, you definitely need some rest.”

He escorted her back to her dorm, which was surprisingly empty. The healers were all having supper together in the kitchen. Jaera did not wish to join them.

She thought she would not be able to sleep, with all the new information she had. There were so many possibilities of what could bring the cure to the prince’s frozen heart. Three ways to unfreeze the heart of ice, yet all three ways were seemingly impossible.

Yet, Jaera sank back into her bed, feeling all her limbs being pulled down by gravity. She was tired both physically and mentally, and drifted into a deep sleep.

-

To Jaera’s surprise, there was no call for a change of healer. She was still in charge of serving Prince Junmyeon his herbal tea and checking up on him. She was thankful that he did not do anyt