Jaera was once again the subject of whispers and rumours of the staff around the castle when she was summoned to the royal chambers. She figured it had to do with the King’s condition. However, she was the only one there instead of her entire team.

When she was let into the royal chambers, the guards left, leaving her alone with the king and queen. King Kim already looked much better than before, and it had only been a day.

“Good morning, dear,” greeted the queen. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I fell into a deep sleep last night,” Jaera answered. “Your Majesties, the both of you look much brighter today.”

“It is all thanks to you and Prince Chanyeol, of course,” King Kim said, sitting up at his bed. “Now, I do have a few questions to ask you. My wife told me that you were the one who came up with the idea of bending to save my life. How do you know about this?”

“I have been very close to Prince Chanyeol since we were children, and he told me in secret. Since the entire situation with His Highness and the weather is all very unnatural, I came up with this theory.”

“So my son’s frozen heart is the cause of bending,” he said, bringing a hand up to his beard. “It was bound to happen, with Juhyun disappearing before the wedding and all the self-doubt just pouring over him. The poor child.”

The king believed that Prince Junmyeon’s heart froze subconsciously. Jaera didn’t say anything.

“Then, surely we can melt the ice?” asked Queen Kim. “By bending as well. It worked wonders for my husband.”

“I am not so sure.” Jaera answered slowly and carefully. She could not reveal too much. “There is not a lot of information about bending, and my head healer believes the frozen heart is caused by other reasons. Besides, we cannot do anything rash yet because His Highness is still unconscious.”

“I have to admit I am not very well-read on bending myself,” said the king. “There should be material in our library, but I cannot get out of this bed just yet. Is the Fire Kingdom prince still here? I should have a word with him too.”

“He left last night,” she said. Her lips felt awfully dry. “He has some royal duties to attend to back in the kingdom.”

“Ah, that is a shame. But that was very smart of you, Miss Jaera, to think of such a plan. My staff have told me that you are the brightest of your team. So that should mean you have thought of a way to cure our son.”

“What are you talking about, dear? The herbs they are feeding him have already worked wonders,” said the queen. “They should be curing our son just fine.”

King Kim shook his head. “That is what I thought of at first. But then I noticed that Miss Jaera has an uncanny resemblance to Juhyun. And I hear the rumours as well. The two have been spending a lot of time together.”

There was a short silence.

“I wish to pull you out from your team,” he said. “I shall grant you access to the entire royal library, so you can read to your heart’s content. I have confidence that you will be able to find a cure Junmyeon.”

“There is no need for me to be pulled out of my team completely,” she said nervously. There was bound to be more talk about her.

He sighed. “Our entire kingdom is at stake. Our crops are dying, our people are suffering. My health, while it is fine right now, is still uncertain. If there is anyone who can find a cure, I am sure it is you. Junmyeon is already drawn to you due to your resemblance to his old love. If there is any procedure to be done, he would be more likely to trust you.”

Jaera nodded. There was nothing she could say to refute that. Everything the king said was true, and the only thing that was holding her back was her fear of hurting Prince Junmyeon. Who knew what else he would do after getting his heart back to normal? It was clear that his mind still needed a lot of healing.

The Queen smiled, her eyes crinkling. “Thank you, dear. I will arrange everything with the two teams of healers.”

“I am glad to be of service,” said Jaera. “If there is nothing else, I should be going now. I am still on duty to serve His Highness his morning tea.”

“Oh yes, you may run along,” she replied, already turning to face her husband, piling more blankets on top of him. “Thank you again. You make a fine healer.”

Jaera offered her a small smile as she left the royal chambers.

-

As she prepared a cup of black tea for the prince, the king’s words attacked her mind endlessly. Was it true that Prince Junmyeon was only paying attention to her because she resembled his ex-fiancée? She was sure that there was some chemistry between them.

Jaera was drawn to the prince. When they spoke, it was as if their conversations could go on forever. There were moments where he would display such nonchalant kindness, surprising her with his warm demeanor despite his icy heart. Her heart thrummed when their hands brushed. And through all of the time they spent together, she could not deny that he was not having a good time as well.

The guard outside the prince’s room greeted her when she arrived. “Good morning. I am afraid that His Highness is not awake yet.”

“It is no matter. I will still have to do the daily check-ups.”

He let her into the room where Prince Junmyeon laid asleep. One of the healers on the night shift said that the prince had regained consciousness somewhere in the middle of the night, asked for the time, ate a biscuit, and went back to sleep.

Though he was asleep, he was not calm. His eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw was clenched. Jaera approached him.

She could not help but smoothen out the wrinkles between his brows. He was angry quite often leading up to when he fainted. Her guess was that the mood swings had to do with his heart melting and freezing so drastically in the span of a few days. A trip to the library could confirm that.

He finally looked calm as he slept. Jaera went ahead with her routine, humming as she did so as usual. She could not stay to chat as she often did, but she was still excited at the prospect of having full access to the library. She yearned for more knowledge.

“Juhyun?”

The humming stopped, and so did her heart for a moment.

“Juhyun?” he repeated. ”Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me,” she replied after a moment, walking towards him slowly.

He did not detect the lie. His eyes were half-open. “How did you get here?”

Jaera decided to go along with it, as he was still blinking sleepily. He honestly looked out of it, and she could use it to her advantage. “It does not matter. How are you, Prince Junmyeon?”

The frown returned, eyes fluttering shut. “Since when do you call me by my title? Why are you here?”

“Junmyeon.” It felt unfamiliar on her tongue. “I am here to see you, of course.”

“You do not love me.” Jaera wasn’t sure whether it was supposed to be a question or a statement. The prince pressed on. “You would never come back to see me. You are just a dream.”

As his voice hardened, she knew that the ice around his heart had hardened too. But still, he reached out to her, as if to c