Without any sort of hesitation, Aien walked closer to her. "Iya," he gently grabbed onto her arms.

Iya immediately shook his hands off of her, irritated. She replied, "You don't have the right to touch me so lovingly. Not after everything that has happened. Not after everything that you did to me."

"Did you really think that I wanted all of that to happen to you?" Aien answered right away. His tears quickly fell as the pain of his guilt finally caught up to him. He continued, "I love you, Iya. And you have to believe me when I say that I didn't want any of that to happen." He cupped her face and added, "You must believe me."

Slowly, Iya shook her head as she removed his hold on her. Her eyes swelled up as she clenched her jaw. She held her pain back for so long, she was struggling to keep herself together. She was immensely hurt by what happened. But under his touch, she was powerless

She loved him to the point that she hated him for loving her. She also hated herself for loving him too much.

She then responded, "After everything that I've been through, you still have the audacity to beg for my trust."

Shame struck Aien to his core, causing him to look away.

Through her silent tears, Iya continued, "You don't know what I've been through because of you, Aien. All those days where I was tortured, treated unfairly because of my connection to you. I was belittled, humiliated, discarded, disgraced. Your kind spit on my totality as a human being. I went through all that because I was fighting for the love that you gave me. I hoped that if you saw how much I fought back against them, you would come to my aid and defend our connection.

"But what did you do? Huh?" she added. "What did you do when your father wanted me to be hanged? Where were you during the nights that I slept alone in a dark, cold cell? When did you ever take my side and defended me against your kind? After your betrayal, only a fool would still believe you."

Aien turned back to her, grabbing her hands as he replied frantically, "Iya, I was powerless against them. If I said something, you would've been dead by now. But you should never question how much I love you. Whether you believe me or not, I know in my heart, in my soul, that I love you."

Iya removed Aien's hands and replied, "What kind of love abandons the people they care for the most?"

Aien froze. He did not utter another word.

Iya continued, "Your words have no bearing at this moment. No matter what you say and do, I will never believe you. Starting today, I never want to see you."

Aien's eyes widened, horrified.

"I never want to speak to you. I never want you near me or Darfin ever again. Any involvement with you, any possible connection with you, I want none of it," Iya added. "Meeting you was a mistake that I never want to repeat until the very moment I die."

Without another word, Iya turned around and headed towards Aien. Aien turned his back and approached the portal, which was about to close. Aien's heart was crushed to a million pieces after hearing what Iya had to say. He wasn't angry with her as he knew he had no right to feel that way. But he hoped that perhaps Iya would say something different.

Alas, all his expectations were dashed. And he lost all hope of reconciliation with Iya in the future.

Right before the portal, Aien stopped before taking another step. He turned his head slowly, an attempt to see just a shadow of the only woman he would ever love in his lifetime. But no one was there. Iya and Darfin have already left.

After a deep sigh and a heavy heart, Aien returned to the portal and entered, just right before it closed.

Similar to his chapter with Iya, everything was sealed and closed. Only time would tell if they could forget one another.

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

After what felt like an hour of walking, Iya and Darfin found a stream. Immediately, with little of his true powers with him, Darfin put a barrier around the area of where they would reside. They didn't know if there was a city or a town nearby. And even if there were, they weren't exactly pleased to imagine that sort of idea.

Although Iya was from the world of mortals, she never truly belonged within their society. Born as a woman, she was expected to be taught the ways of a wife. Unexpectedly, even though she grew under the strict and hard-handed supervision of her mother, Iya grew to have the heart and qualities of her late father, to whom she was very attached to as a child.

No matter how hard her mother tried, no matter how much she pushed her daughter into the path that was expected of Iya, all her efforts were in vain. And because of that, Iya's mother was humiliated. And to prevent further humiliation, Iya was thrown out of their home and left to fend for herself. Only the gentle heart of Iya's stepfather saved her from being a discarded stray on the streets.

The same night when Iya was thrown out, her stepfather came to her rescue and secretly bought her a hut outside the city. It wasn't much but Iya accepted it and was grateful. Since then, her stepfather taught her everything for her survival, even how to work, write, read and compute. He himself went against his beloved woman and created a self-sufficient person out of his stepdaughter.

And for that, Iya loved him more than she ever loved her own mother, her parent by blood.

Darfin returned to Iya who was opening the sacks of provision given to them. "We are all set with our safety," Darfin said, crouching down across Iya. Iya looked at him and he continued, "All we have to do now is to maintain its strength every week."

"And how are we supposed to do that? Most of your powers have been taken away by Qildour. You will drain yourself if you use your powers as if nothing happened," Iya protested as worry arose in her.

After they were judged and condemned to death, King Qildour immediately resigned to remove all of Darfin's Elven Powers, a heavy price to pay if you became a traitor in their land. However, Aien intervened and begged to spare Darfin of such a torment. Aien explained that Darfin played no part in it and was innocent. In Qildour's eyes, however, Darfin was an accomplice in the prince's secret rendezvous in the mortal world. But still, Qildour allowed a bit of powers to remain with Darfin, just enough for him to survive what might come next after judgment has been passed down.

Darfin smiled, looking directly into Iya's eyes. He explained, "Iya, I will be fine. I know that my powers aren't what they used to be. But I will do everything and anything that I can to ensure your safety. And besides, my powers will still regenerate when not in use."

"They will indeed regenerate but not as quickly as before," Iya protested after a sigh. She continued, "Your powers aren't what they used to be, Darfin. And you have never lived in my world before. You will need all the remaining powers and you need to use them wisely."

Darfin sighed as he shook his head. He reached out and held Iya's hands, slowly standing up with her. He answered, comforting his friend, "Iya, you've been through too much unnecessary suffering in our kingdom. And sadly, the culprit for the predicament that we're in didn't openly defend us. Which is why I am willing to do everything to give you a comfortable life after the tragedy with Aien."

"I understand that you want to keep me safe, Darfin. And as your friend, I whole-heartedly appreciate that. But I also don't want you to kill yourself because of what you want to do," Iya replied. "You're my dearest friend. You're the only family I have left and I can't lose you, too."

Smiling, Darfin cupped Iya's cheek. "Don't you worry, Iya. You'll be the first one to leave me once you reach your golden age," he teased, earning him a playful slap on the arm.

It became Darfin's habit to include jokes to lighten up serious conversations. He could be serious when he was required to be. But too much seriousness would usually bring Darfin's energy and that could easily influence the ones closest to him.

In this scenario, Iya.

The moment they stepped foot on the mountain, Darfin aimed to keep Iya in her highest spirits. And he wouldn't allow their current situation or anything to get in the way of his goal.

Darfin caressed Iya's cheek for a while before pulling his hand back. "Well, then, let's build our humble abode, then?" he asked.

Iya's brows furrowed. Looking around, she replied, "But we haven't collected materials for that yet."

Gently, Darfin pulled Iya behind him. With the small amount of powers that remained in his veins, Darfin used his powers to summon the nature around him. Slowly, he flew up in the air, the materials needed for a cottage started to gather before them. Darfin placed them all together in a certain spot, spinning in a whirlwind all together. Finally, he thrusted a glowing orb into that whirlwind which made the materials come together. And in no time, a small cottage was built.

Darfin gently came down but fell to the leaf-covered ground. Blood came out of his mouth as he coughed. His nose also dripped blood.

"Darfin!" Iya rushed to his side. Without any more control over her emotions, she wept, "Stop straining yourself and your powers already."

Darfin coughed a little more before he cleared his throat. Smiling through the dizzy feeling of being drained, he looked up to her and pointed to the cottage. "Welcome home to us," he said.

Iya turned to the humbly made cottage before them. It had its own open terrace and open kitchen as well. Pulling Darfin closer, she hugged him tighter as she nodded, agreeing to what Darfin said.

Welcome home, Iya. Welcome home… indeed?