His eyes remained on where Iya was. Not once did he blink, not once did he look away as Iya and Darfin passed through the barrier. Each step that Iya took, each step that she made away from him and his world, shattered his heart.

He wanted to go after her. He wanted to scream and stop her from leaving. He wanted to run to her, pull her back and profess his undying love for her. But he couldn't. His position, his image, his responsibility, his very being, prevented him from doing so.

He thought no one noticed but his father, the king, watched him like a hawk. Frustrated, he walked towards Aien and grabbed him by the arm.

Aiem immediately turned around, confused.

"Don't even think about it, Aien. Don't even think of stopping her," Qildour gritted. He continued, "I did everything that I can to clean your name, to put all the blame on that puny human. Do not dare to undo everything that I did to protect your image."

Aien removed his father's grip, his lips pressed firmly together. He replied, "For years, I did everything that you told me to do. I acted in the ways you wanted me to. I even allowed you to belittle the woman that I love because of your rules. But for this once, be a father - a true father to me - and allow me to bid my final goodbye to her."

"And why should I allow you to do that?" Qildour asked.

"This will be the last time that I will see her. If you still have half a heart, you would know that the moment she's gone from my life, half of myself will die. And day by day, until my dying breath, I will be nothing but an empty shell of who I once was," Aien quickly answered. He continued, "Since that's already unavoidable, give me my dying wish and that's to see her and speak to her for one last time."

Qildour sighed as he looked away from his son. He has never been so disappointed with Aien. But he also knew that if he didn't agree to it, it would be a constant reason for them to argue. And he knew that it could be a possible problem if he asked Aien to do something for him.

Defeated, he replied without turning to Aien, "Very well, but you'll only have three minutes. If you go beyond that, I will have her killed right in front of you."

Even though he was horrified, he wasted no time and ran after Iya and Darfin.

---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---

The leaves crackled under her sandals as Iya stepped onto the ground. With her hand still holding Darfin's, she looked around and marveled at the beauty around her. Sunlight gently pierced through the tall bamboo trees. Birds sang freely as they flew through the air. Though there was no sign of life around them, she wasn't scared for their lives. She found it peaceful, even. And the same went for Darfin.

When they first heard their punishment, they feared that they would starve to death. However, the more they looked around their surroundings, they couldn't believe that they felt relieved in a place where most souls would be disheartened with the situation. They would simply quit, give up on any chances of surviving.

In Darfin's eyes, the forest was rich in resources. There was a surplus of materials to make a small hut for him and Iya. He crouched down and took a handful of soil. He closed his eyes, squishing the dirt with his hands. He even smelled it, letting out a satisfied grin as he reopened his eyes.

"What is it, Darfin?" Iya asked.

Darfin returned the soil to the ground and stood back up. "The soil here is rich and fertile," he said as he shook the remaining dirt on his hands. He continued, "We won't have any problems here in regards to resources. We'll have everything we need."

"But what about water?" Iya asked.

Darfin looked around before he replied, "In a place like this, I'm certain that a stream is nearby. I'll take a look around later after we make shelter. At the same time, you won't have to worry much about water. With all these bamboos around us, we have enough until we find a permanent supply of water."

Iya nodded. She only knew a little on how to survive on her own, far from her family, far from the world. And she trusted Darfin that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He stood by her side and she believed that he would do the same until they recovered from such a traumatic experience.

They were about to walk away when they heard someone step out of the portal. As they turned around, they were shocked to see that Aien followed them.

Still catching his breath, Aien said, "I need a moment with Iya. It'll only be for a little while."

Darfin stepped right in front of Iya. Finally, he replied, "You hurt her enough, Aien. I think that it's best that you let us leave peacefully."

"I won't take up so much of your time. His Majesty also just gave me a few minutes to speak with her for the last time," Aien begged, looking directly at Iya after he spoke to Darfin.

Hesitant, Darfin took a deep breath and turned to Iya. He didn't want Aien near the poor girl as she has gone so much because of him. The fact that Aien was his previous master and closest friend didn't matter to him anymore. The only thing that he knew now was that Iya was brought into such a predicament because of Aien's stubbornness. He already warned him that it wasn't a good idea to be around Iya. But Aien never listened and now, they were in a situation where what was once a beautiful relationship was destroyed.

Iya thought for a bit before she smiled faintly at Darfin. "Give us a moment, Darfin. I will be fine, I assure you."

Darfin glared at Aien once more before returning to Iya. "If he does anything to you - anything of the sort - do not hesitate to scream. Yell my name. I will wait close by," Darfin answered, his eyes widened as he instructed her on what to do.

Iya nodded.

Darfin gave her a gentle pat on the head before walking away. And like he said, he stayed just within reach of Iya. He really didn't want to leave her alone with Aien, knowing very well of what he was capable of doing. But he figured that maybe, Aien wanted to close the chapter between them and this could be the only time where closure would be given to Iya.

"Well," Iya slowly stepped closer to Aien with her arms crossed, "If you're not given a lot of time to speak to me, then I also don't have time to have a long discussion with you. Whatever it is that you want to tell me, speak now and I will listen."