[Airastine Windsor POV]

Beautifully crafted decorated ceiling. That was the first thing I saw as I woke up. This was my room, I undertood it immediately. 

"Young miss! You are awake." Awkwardly looking to the right with my stiff body, I saw Henna. 

Since my body was so stiff, it was hard for me to sit up. So, Henna helped me sit up on the bed. 

"How long was I unconscious for, Henna?"

"3 days now , young miss."

3 days... 

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I am fine. I just over exterted my core, nothing else."

She looked at me kind of... shocked? I opened my eyes of wisdom to see confusion as her emotions?

Why?

"... I-is that so. A-anyway, I have already called the doctor and the healer. So, you should rest."

... Now she was worried. Extensively so. I kept my eyes locked with her. After a while, I gave up and started looking around for my dear friend. But, I couldn't see him. 

'Maybe on duty?'

"Henna, call him."

"... H-him?"

? Now her emotions were repression. Why?

"... Call him, Henna."

"... Um... Uhhh..."

Her emotions were a jumble of mess. I was worried now. 

"What happened to him, Henna?"

"Y-you see, miss..."

"Say it clearly, Hanna!"

"Y-yes! You see miss-"

She told me that after I fell unconscious, the doctors couldn't really understand why I was unconscious. Probably due to the archangel's blessing. And they suspected that... I was poisoned. 

And after recollecting everything from Henna, since the last drink I had was his tea, father immediately imprisoned him. They didn't execute or interrogate him since they knew He was close to me. But they kept him imprisoned. 

I was mad, now. Yet, sad for him. 

"B-but he escaped after 2 days..."

"... What?"

Huh? Escaped? From what? He didn't do anything though.

"W-we don't know. A group of unknown poeple breached in the prison and rescued him. And we are thinking he has escaped to his own accord..."

"..."

Does it make sense? He escaped from what. He knew he was innocent. Or was he worried that he would be executed? 

Or... Or did he run away from me? 

"Y-yound miss? C-calm down!"

My mana was running amoke. Was he really that mad at me that he ran away? Was he really that disappointed?

"M-miss, please!"

Fine, if he thought so... Than I'll let it be. A-atleast, he can be safe that way... 

"Henna."

"Yes, young miss."

"Call father and also tell father to stop pursuing him."

"B-but-"

"Henna, do as I say. And tell father I won't take no for an answer."

"Yes!"

Goodbye then, my dearest friend.

...

..

.

[2 days later]

I calmed down in these past few days. I let it go. 

If he can be safe by being away from me then it's better that way. 

Now it was the middle of the night. I was engrossed in work to not worry about him. 

"Young miss, tomorrow the new butler will arrive."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, he is said to be really capable and also a supreme mage assigned by his majesty."

"..."

I don't want one. That's what I honestly thought. I don't want a servent anymore. I-I just want my frien-

Suddenly the mark under my abdomen, the mark of obedience started stinging a bit. 

I was confused since this was first time I have got any kind of reaction from it. Actually there shouldn't be any kind of reaction from it at all, since I was the master... 

Now that I think about, the slave trader did say that I will get reaction from the mark when the slave's... life was in danger. 

!!!

I immediately stood up.

"Y-young miss? What happened?"

"Immediately call Collin! Now!" 

"Yes!"

Henna immediately ran out of the room going to the guard's quarter. I started channeling mana through the mark and try to feel the connection. 

The connection was getting weaker. That means the other sides life force was depleting. 

I activated the mark for the first time ever and tried to recall him. But to no avail. He wasn't coming no matter how much I tried neither did I feel any kind of response for the recall. Something was interfering with the mark. It lead to somewhere I can atleast find his location-

"My lady! What do need!"

Head guard, Collin. The strongest person at this state was now kneeling in front me. 

"Prepare the flying carriage, we are going to rescue him! Also bring along the best healer!"

"Yes, My lady!"

After that we shortly departed. While on the flying carriage, I kept activating the recalling function of the mark. But the mana just led to a certain location and gets broken. 

We headed to the location it was being interfered at. It took more than 5 hours to get there by the carriage and I couldn't just rush out since he needed the healers. 

It was past midnight when we reached the place where the connection was cut off at.

We were in a town out of the empire's region. It was a lawless town under no governer. The connection always cut off near an alley in the back of the town. 

!!! 

The mark! It was stinging more. Dangerously so! I didn't wait and immediately activated my eyes of wisdom at full power. That caused my wings to menisfest and I could see mana signatures of multiple people under ground. I tired life force searching but the underground was too deep. 

"Everyone, go to the under ground and search each of these areas. Fast!"

""Yes!""

I showed the soldiers and guards where they need to go and they begun their search. Same goes for me. I started searching, too. 

The mark kept stinging at every beat. It didn't stop even for a second from then on. 

And from far I heard-

"Who are you people?! Arggghh!!!"

"Men, check if he is okey? Check his vitals!"

I headed there as I heard the commotion. I saw the guards getting out running towards the exit. I went in the dark room. I couldn't see much due to people gathering this much. My mark was stinging.

"Inform the lady, fast!"

"No need, move!"

"My lady!"

"..."

There on a chair... I saw him... 

His face was a disfigured mess. Nose broken, eyes dug in his socket. A few teeth left. All the fingers and toes were broken. There were no nails on them. Hand, feet broken in a weird angle. 

His upper body was naked. Yet it was a bruised mess. Every cut on his body seemed infected and bleeding. He was bleeing from his eyes, nose, mouth and even his ears... I tried to see his emotions through the eyes but there was nothing more than pain and suffering there. His life force was also slipping fast.

... 

I moved closer to him or tried to until a guard came with a healer. 

"I bought the healer!"

"Move! Let me see!"

The healer moved in just to almost show a disgusted face, and with my eyes his emotions were full of disgust and pity. 

"What the hell is this mess... Remove all the chain and shackles, fast!"

Collin moved in broked the chair and shackles down and lay him flat on the blood covered floor. The healer moved in and started healing him just to show another pitying emotion. Shortly after- 

"Young L-lady, I-It will be hard with just me a-alone."

The healer looked at me while stuttering. And I moved closer to... My dearest friend's body and touched his chest above his heart. It was still beating.

Even though I maybe a battle mage, I still had two of the best elements needed to heal people. Water element and light element. 

I started channeling two of the highest healing spells of the two elements I could conjure right now. The spell were placed on his body, but at most, it was just stabilizing his life force, it wasn't bringing it back. 

"What do we need to do?" I asked the healer.

"W-we need to move to your living quarters. There were alot of healers and doctors stationed there."

"Okay, let's go."

I picked up my dearest friend in my cradle with a princess carry. Something I requested alot from him when we were kids. 

"M-my Lady! Let me carry him-"

"I am also healing him here, Collin."

"... Yes."

"Go prepare the flying carriage and also put all the criminals on the back of the carriage, too." I told the guards and the soldiers.

""Yes, my lady!""

"And Collin,"

"Yes."

"You head back first and prepare the doctors and healers in my room."

"As you wish, my lady!"

Collin moved the fastest out of here, and we also got on the carriage while taking the criminals along.

While on the flying carriage, the mark was stinging constantly signifying his life force was dangerously low. 

I wanted to take him into my cradle and rush instantly to my mension, but I couldn't due to him being stablized here. 

TBC-