131 Chapter 131. A dagger and a stone

" Aeinshia, " Evan called her, wishing she would give any response in return. He too broke his promise, so he misunderstood she isn't willing to talk to him and was angry at him. Well, part of it is correct, she is indeed angry, but not because of Evan, instead because of her weak self.

No matter what she did, she ended up facing the same obstacle which she need to tackle, making her lose the confidence on herself, worrying her about the end result. She is angry because of her pathetic self which didn't have any ounce of courage or idea on what to do in this situation. 

Evan furrowed his brows. Well, when he first saw Aeinshia, he thought she is here for him. They are going for an important mission and need to pacify the worse situations. They didn't get anymore updates of the situation in the East after they received the letter from an official.

The situation was already worse yesterday, so they need to be ready to face worse than before. This time they can't kill the enemy, but protect the enemy and should protect themselves, which is surely a little hard compared to their usual missions.

And the Riot is already aggressive to the point that they went on a cold-blooded massacre against guards and official court people. So many guards, including General Hendral's family ladies came here to specially bid them  and wish them safe return.

Yes, those all colours were from those ladies, whom Aeinshia saw before are here for wishing their loved ones safe returns. They usually give handmade ribbons wishing luck, or flowers wishing them safe trip throughout their journey or pass them something which is very valuable to them, which means they need to come back safely and return it to them.

So when Evan saw Aeinshia, he thought she is here for him for a minute, but soon dispersed that thought out of his mind, observing how absent minded she was, and understood, she didn't get anything to give him. He was hurt to know it, but soon regained his composure and thought, " It's ok, what matters is, it is me who give her something. I will take the initiative, " Thinking that he called her, but despite his efforts, no reply came from the other end, making him feel bad.

Clearing his throat, " Aeinshia, " He called again, however, this time he got a response back.

"Hmm~" Aeinshia hummed, nevertheless, she really isn't much interested to speak to Evan now.

Evan let go of her hand, his hands made it's way towards his waist and surprisingly he took his dagger out. The dagger was small, but one could clearly see it's sharpness with one quick glance on it. The dagger is thin on surface, But if anyone had ever picked it up and felt it's weight they would have known that to be a lie. The handle was solid gold and the gems encrusted upon it were real. The royal red gems were embedded on it. 

The blade was cold grey steel and still has sharp as the day it was fashioned. Evan's name was engraved on the dagger. This dagger is like a normal accessory which they carry till the end of their life. It's for their protection, which signifies they can't let their guard down even when they are resting inside their very own house.

Here in Seazle empire, as soon as an imperial member is born, the current emperor orders to make a dagger for him/her. This dagger is presented by the Emperor himself when the Emperor names his new family member and welcomes the potential heir.

This dagger holds a lot of significance. This dagger isn't only for the specified Royal's protection, but in case, if this dagger was presented to someone else, it means, the Royal wants to protect the person in any case and will continue doing it no matter what.

In simple terms, If a man gives this dagger to a lady, it means he is willing to take her into his protection and here Evan is doing the same thing with Aeinshia and he made sure, that she would be save even without his presence around her. Yes, protecting her is his major priority, even though he can't do it directly, he can find alternatives to do the work needed.

" I know you didn't prepare anything for me. And , I'm not forcing you. But, next time I'm not going to leave this off, " He seriously spoke to her, trying his best to not spoil his act in front of her, and confined, " I hope you help me take care of this dagger in mean while. Don't mind to use it if necessary, " He spoke casually behind those heavy meaning words, as if killing a person isn't much value to him.

Of course, that's not the case, in truth, he does know Aeinshia won't do something very stupid to misuse his valuable ornament and is a beauty with brain.

A crease formed on Aeinshia's  forehead. Everything is fine, he is concerned about her protection and is caring about her, but his first sentence wording isn't good, he could have told gently to her.

Before she could refute back, he pushed the dagger into her hands and immediately backed off, knowing he made her angry again.

He took peeks at her, to notice her change of expressions with each passing minute.

Aeinshia gently smiled back and finally grabbed the dagger, however, she didn't reply anything, again crushing his hopes. For the first time, successfully, she made him feel sad twice a day. At first she didn't get anything for him and even after he gave something to her, not even a single word came out of her mouth.

Anyone would expect at least a reply from the person, who you entrusted your most important thing. He wished she would speak something before he leaves. He assumed that, she was really upset with him and decided to just leave, before his mind went to overdrive beacuse of guilt thinking. 

Evan turned around, his steps hasty, he was about to take a step away from leaving, when a small voice stopped him. Evan stopped, not sure, if he really heard it or his mind was playing tricks with him. 

"Evan, stop." The soft voice of Aeinshia rang out inside the silent tent and Evan froze. He turned around and saw Aeinshia looking down at the dagger that he gave her. She was holding it firmly in her hands, but not too tightly. 

He was confused. 'Did I just assume everything? Did she really call me?' He thought to himself and frowned while looking at her. Aeinshia looked up at Evan and saw his confusion. She didnt understand what he was so confused about and took some steps in his direction. 

She took small steps towards him, maintaining the eye contact. Evan's eyes widened slightly, but he didnt show any other sign of response to her. 

She stopped when she was a small baby step away from him. When she came near, she had to tilt her head up a little bit, to look at Evan. He was lot taller for his age, that was for sure. Now, that she can see his face, she examined his sharp, but somehow soft features. 

Evan was truly handsome, no one she has ever seen was more handsome than Evan. Thats the part of reason, why she fell for him. His eyes were the most attractive of his features. They were dark and intimidating. But, if seen closely, you could find the love he has towards the others. 

Her gaze traveled on every curve of his face and she just admired how handsome and young he looked. She smiled softly and Evan tilted his head slightly. He was about to ask, if she wanted anything, but Aeinshia beat him to it, by pulling at his arm. 

She gently took his palm and resting in her palm and pulled something from behind her belt.

" Who told that I have nothing to give this prince? " Aeinshia playfully grinned at him, as her fist was closed, when she put that something on his wrist, so Evan couldn't see what was it exactly. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. 

When Aeinshia placed the thing, Evan could feel the coldness of it. Aeinshia finally removed the hand from his palm, but not the one that was below his palm. She wanted to hold his hand for a little longer. 

Evan was finally able to see the something, that she gave him. It was a shiny stone, which seem to have tiny sparks in it despite the limited lighting it got inside the tent. It was beautiful, that Evan was mesmerized by it. 

He looked up to Aeinshia and looked at her ocean blue eyes. Then, he understood the meaning of the gift, he got from her. It was a stone, that perfectly depicted Aeinshia. That means, she was indirectly entrusting herself to him and requesting him to return safe to her. 

Usually people here give something valuable to their loved one's and ask them to return it back safely, indirectly asking the person to return back safely to their home. 

"Come home safe, Evan. Mother asked father to pass this stone to me. It represents me. So even though I am not beside you, I hope this stone could make up for my absence. Keeping this stone aside, I want you to return back safely ( to me) " She spoke, and didn't let few words out of her mouth and continued her inner wishes, 'I'll be waiting for you' she wanted to add that too. But, she wasn't sure, how her future was going to be. So, she decided, she won't speak anything. 

She unconsciously tightened her hold on the hand of Evan, which he clearly felt. It was enough for him. It was enough for him to know, that she cared for him, as much as he cared and loved her. 

"I will, Aeinshia. I will come home, soon." He said, this time unable to keep his wide smile at the bay. His heart was happy with this gesture. Aeinshia was happy, that she made Evan happy. She felt accomplished for some reason. 

The stood like that, hold in hands and smiling at each other, with their gazes fixed on each others eyes, searching for the love, that they couldn't express in words. 

A loud clang outside, broke their little love bubble and Evan turned his head to glance outside. He apologetically looked at Aeinshia, who in turn nodded at him, understanding. She nodded again, telling him to go. He gave a lingering look at her and then, went out to join his troop. 

Aeinshia sighed heavily. "I'm not sure, what to do." She thought out loud.