IVES ZACH

      King Raleigh slowly opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling above him. His head was throbbing in pain. He remembered falling down from the cliff and knew he was about to die. He was definitely not in his royal palace and obviously not in his bed but he still felt that he was lying above a soft thing. Wait!! Did he really die? What was this fluffy thing under him? Was he sleeping on clouds? It meant that he went to heaven instead of hell. He was crying in tears of happiness knowing he wouldn't have to burn in hell.

     No, No, was he a fool? It can't be. King Raleigh could feel his heart beating and he was breathing. He tried to move his body but couldn't move because of the pain. Who saved him and where was he now? Did somebody kidnap him after all he was a king and would be a good hostage against his kingdom? He just hoped he wasn't caught by his enemies. He laid on the bed and looked around the unfamiliar room. It looked like he was in a small room made of woods. Although the room looked small, it was warm and cozy. There was a small table beside his bedside where there was a jug of water. He felt thirsty seeing the water. King Raleigh tried to sit up to drink the water but couldn't. He then saw most of his body was wrapped with bandages. He was still struggling to sit up when a soft voice interrupted him.

    "Hey!! Stop struggling. You'll open your closed wounds after I stitched it."

Who the hell dared to order him what to do and what not to do? Didn't this person know he was a king? He harshly looked at the door where the voice came from. King Raleigh wanted to shout at him for being disrespectful but his words got stuck on his throat as he saw the boy. He just looked at the boy silently. The boy hurriedly ran inside and gently helped king Rlaiegh to lay on the bed. King Raleigh was just looking at the boy without blinking his eyes. The boy then asked, "Are you thirsty?"

   King Raleigh felt his throat was suddenly dry and answered with his deep voice. "Yes."

   "Then you should have rung that bell near the jug. How can you be so careless? Your wounds might have opened again. It was so hard for me to stitch it." 

    "Ah, sorry about that."  What??!! Did he just fucking say sorry? How was it possible? He never said sorry to anyone, not even his own mother. King Raleigh was surprised at his own behavior. What was happening to him? Did he really become a fool?

   The boy smiled and said, "It's okay. Call me next time. I'll help you." Then the boy started pouring the water into the glass.

King Raleigh got lost in the boy's smile. He looked so beautiful. The boy looked pale with beautiful Caribbean eyes with golden sparkles around his pupils which were different eye color from the citizens of the Raven kingdom. Maybe he was a foreigner but he was speaking the language of the Ravene kingdom fluently. Maybe he is mixed. He could get lost in those eyes forever. He had a small cute nose and plump lips with an oval face. His hair which reached up to his shoulders were half tied and half were left messily loose. His front hair was falling on his forehead making him look more enchanting. 

     "So cute."

King Raleigh thought. Wait!! what?! No. No. He was definitely not thinking it.

The boy gave a glass of water. King Raleigh's fingertips lightly touched the boy's fingertips while receiving the glass. That slight touch made him feel butterflies in his stomach and his heart which he never thought would beat for another person was beating loudly. Was it the legendary love at first sight? And since when did he start believing in this thing? King Raleigh avoided looking at the beautiful boy standing before him and loudly gulped the water. He felt calm after that. The boy was looking at him with a weird look in his eyes. King Raleigh suddenly started to panic. Did the boy think he was weird? Ahh... but look at that boy, Okay!! He looked so small and cute in those oversized woolen clothes.

  "Lay down. I need to put some herb paste in your wounds and change the bandages." The boy said talking off his woolen jacket. 

King Raleigh obediently laid down on the bed. What was happening? Why was he obediently obeying this stranger? Not a stranger. He was an angel sent from above to save his life. He was his savior. But still, he was never tamed by anyone like this. It's okay. He was just injured now. Later he will show this boy his place.

    The boy washed his hands and brought out the paste he had prepared earlier. He opened king Raleigh's bandages and slowly applied the paste on the cuts. King Raleigh closed his eyes and hissed in pain as the paste made his cuts burn. The boy saw this and softly blew the cut and gently applied the paste. King Raleigh opened his eyes when he felt gentle air near his wounds. He then saw the view which he could never forget. The boy was lowering his head as he was applying the paste. His silky brunette hair strands falling on his face as he struggled to put it behind his right ear. The whole action looked so adorable.

   King Raleigh slowly raised his right arm and helped the boy's hair putting it behind his ear. He didn't know why he did it. His hand just moved unconsciously. The boy looked at him and smiled showing his pearly white teeth.

    Ba-dump!

King Raleigh put the raised hand on his chest. He was feeling as light as a feather. He was feeling like the mouse was running inside his stomach. What was this feeling? He had never experienced it before.

   "Hey, I was wondering if you could stop staring at me like that. You have been staring at me since I entered the room and it's making me uncomfortable." The boy spoke as he looked at king Raleigh.

   Oops! He got caught. 

"Ahem!! Why would I stare at you? Do you think you are that good-looking? I was just looking at how you were treating my wounds."

The boy's face became bright red after he heard that. "Wh- I am sorry. I thought you were looking at me." He then immediately lowered his head and started to treat king Raleigh's wounds. Even the tip of his ears was red. King Raleigh was amazed to see him blushing and he also averted his gaze.

     "Are you a doctor?" King Raleigh asked. 

    "Yes. But I am still learning from my father to be the best doctor." The boy answered as he towered himself above king Raleigh to wrap the bandage around king Raleigh's stomach. King Raleigh turned his head sideways avoiding looking at the boy as the boy was too close to him. His silky hairs were lightly touching his chest areas making king Raleigh feel goosebumps. It was beautiful torture. The boy finished wrapping the bandages and sat on the bedside looking at king Raleigh. King Raleigh was also looking at him. 

  "Umm... I-I thought I had d-died. Did you save me?"

King Raleigh cried internally. Did he just fucking stutter? Holy shit!! Where were his absolute words and dignifying aura?

   "I was just returning back to my home but got stuck in a blizzard. I couldn't continue to walk. Then I heard the roar of the snow leopard coming from above the cliff and avoided going there for a while and after that, I took a lower path. Surprisingly I found you buried under the layer of snow. I was also shocked myself because other people rarely come around these mountains full of snow leopards and only a fool would actually face off the snow leopard."

   Fool!!! Did this boy just call him a fool? How dare he? King Raleigh controlled his anger and stayed silent for a while. This boy definitely knew he was actually facing off the snow leopard above the cliff and he still called him a fool. This boy would have definitely not dared if this boy knew who he was. King Raleigh was just waiting to drop this bomb.

    "Yeah, you're right. Only a fool would do that. Anyway how long have I been unconscious? King Raleigh asked gritting his teeth. 

   The boy smiled slightly and replied, "It's been three days."

What?? He had been knocked out for that long? What were his soldiers doing? Were they searching for him? What about his kingdom? King Raleigh thought. 

   "Did anyone come looking for me?"

    "Till now, no one had come. You know this place is very remote and you can get lost easily. It is hard to find a person once they are lost."

    "Are you living alone here in these mountains?" King Raleigh asked being surprised. He had never imagined he was still in this mountain. He looked outside the window. Yup, it was white outside. 

   "No, I live with my father. But mostly I am alone here as he goes to the cities for his job."

    "Oh But why in this place instead of the cities."

    "Um. I don't know. I was born here and raised here. My father had never told me." The boy answered rubbing his head.

     "What about your mother?"

     "She died when I was five."

      "I am sorry about that. I shouldn't have asked."

      "It's okay. It doesn't matter. I am always alone here. So this is my first time speaking so much with another person except my father." The boy said smiling.

      "Where is your father now?" King Raleigh asked softly. King Raleigh himself hadn't realized he was speaking in such a tone.

        "He's out to the city. He will return after two weeks." King Raleigh wanted to ask more questions but the boy stopped him. "You can ask other questions later. I think you might be staying here for a long time. You were unconscious for three days and you might be hungry. Need to recharge. I'll prepare delicious soup for you."

     "Okay." The boy exited the room and king Raleigh leaned his back on the pillow thinking what just happened. There was a complete turn in his personality and behavior. He had never thought he would be like this before. If someone had told him in the past that he would be behaving like this in the coming future then he would have definitely killed that person. Why was he like this? Was it because he got saved by that boy? Yeah, it might be his gratitude towards that boy that he was behaving differently. Nothing more. He then hummed in satisfaction. 

    And king Raleigh was also sure that the boy didn't know about his real identity. He had made himself famous for being a dangerous and ruthless king. And here the boy was talking in a friendly way and acting casually with him. The boy was not afraid of him and never avoided his eyes. Before this none had even dared to raise their head before him. And now king Raleigh was liking this feeling. Change of an environment can be good after all. He would just take his stay here as a vacation before going back to his palace. King Raleigh was looking forward to spending his time with this boy here. 

       This boy was too innocent and naive as he had always stayed here. King Raleigh was tired of being surrounded by corrupted peoples. Spending his time with a pure innocent boy wasn't that bad after all. He was lost in his thoughts when he saw the boy entering with a soup on a tray on his hands. The fresh aroma of the soup spread within the room making king Raleigh's stomach growl in hunger.

 The boy chuckled and king Raleigh lowered his head in embarrassment.  The boy gave the soup to king Raleigh and said, "Drink all of it. It might be bitter but it'll help you."

   "Thanks for the soup."

    "No need to thank. It is my duty, after all, I am a doctor."

The boy was smiling as king Raleigh drank the soup slowly. Although it was slightly bitter, king Raleigh loved the taste of it. He had never tasted such soup before. Then king Raleigh realized they haven't introduced each other. He must know the name of this beautiful person.

      "What's your name?"

      "Zach, Ives Zach. What about yours?"

 Ives. KingRaleigh said the name internally in his heart. Truly a beautiful and rare name. And you know king Raleigh's pride hurt when Ives asked for his name. How could someone be so stranded away from the civilization that he didn't even know the name of the king of the kingdom he was living in? If Ives went to the cities, he would definitely be eaten alive. He was just too pure for this cruel world. The whole land would kneel before him and his name and here Ives was casually asking for him and look he was even smiling so innocently. Who would have the heart to hurt him? Control yourself. You cannot hurt him. King Raleigh pushed away all his humiliation and replied, "Raleigh."

      "Wow! It's a good name suitable for you."

      "Um."

Ives looked down and said, "You know, ever since I was born, I had never been outside of this place. My father restricts me. He said I was not allowed to leave this place until I turn twenty. So, I don't know anything happening outside this mountain and this area. I actually feel lonely hereby only myself."

    "How old are you know?"

     "19."

      "Hm, then you'll be 20 soon. You can leave this place after that."

      "I know but still there's a lot of times before I turn 20. I don't ask for anything. Just keep me company until you heal, okay." Ives said showing his puppy eyes.

       "Okay." King Raleigh answered. Although he hadn't planned to stay for long, he still wanted to accompany Ives. Well, what was wrong with spending time with a beautiful person?