Chapter Text
Four lands.
That was what divided our world.
The land of Spring, wherein you reside in. Flowers here and there, plants and greenery all-around. It was an amazing land, mountains to climb, and fields to explore. You were grateful to be there.
The land of Summer, the scorching heat that radiates within, in which you are neighbors with, and also which you also have some friends in.
The land of Fall, neighbors with Summer. You barely know anyone there, however, they’re quite a peaceful kind. Always quiet, leaves falling from trees that always seem to hang on and grow back, you wish you could explore that land.
And finally, the land of Winter. Where it’s as cold as ice, its terrain consists of pure white and light blues, ever so pretty, yet you always seem to see a lonely boy, cool, and handsome. You fell in love at first sight of him. Always admiring from afar, pining over a lonely boy who you could never be with.
From what you gathered from observing him, his name was Marius, and he was younger than you by three years.
He loved to paint, as you sometimes see him with his easel and canvas, effortlessly painting the scenery of Spring.
What shocked you though, was that his father was the king of the land.
While you were just some commoner working at a high titled job. You were a physician for the royal family of Spring.
—
Once, while admiring your crush, which grew bigger and bigger each year, you see him with a girl.
She was admirably pretty, almost too beautiful. It made you insecure. Who was she?
A few days go by, and you barely see Marius painting the scenery near the border. Was he hanging out with the girl you saw the other day?
You sigh, continuing on with your job. You should be focusing on your patients right now, not daydreaming about your crush.
“[First]? Are you feeling alright?” Vyn says, concerned.
Oh, right. Vyn, your friend, also from the land of ice. You’ve been working with him for a couple of months now. He’s a psychologist for patients locked up in the dungeons. The land of spring lately had trouble with lots of people destroying the natural habitat and resources of the land, so the royal family needed help from neighboring countries. The land of ice sent Vyn, and he’s been helping the mental issues of both your patients and the criminals locked up.
“I’m fine, Vyn. Just thinking about stuff.” You sigh, and Vyn respectfully doesn’t prompt further. It seems like he knows you don’t want to talk about it.
After a silent moment, you remembered that Vyn works for the royal family for the land of Ice, and looked at him. His eyebrows raise up, almost as if asking ‘What do you need?’.
“Are you close with the royal family of Ice?” You ask, and Vyn’s eyes sparkle with curiosity, something you wouldn’t expect from him. “Why?” He asks.
“Well, I’m just curious about the youngest, I heard he’s going to be the heir, since his brother went on a vacation.” You say, trying to sound not so obvious.
“He’s a lonely kid. I tutor him, actually.” Vyn admits, and your jaw drops in shock. “You tutor who?” You exclaim, and Vyn shakes his head, smiling.
“Yeah. He’s a bratty kid.”
“...Oh.” You nod, not expecting that.
Continuing on with work, you glance at Vyn from time to time, wanting to ask him more questions about Marius.
You recon Vyn probably can sense your glancing, and definitely knows you’re still curious about Marius. To which, Vyn indeed notices.
“...Do you want to ask more?” Vyn asks, and you have to admit defeat.
“...Yeah.” You admitted, almost sounding a bit like a puppy who got caught doing something naughty.
“Ask away. It’s alright with me.”
“Well, um…” You think of how to word your question. How can you even go about this question without sounding weird? Maybe even stalker-ish. You mentally dig a grave for yourself in preparation of what you’re about to say next.
“Do you… Know this girl that’s recently with, um, the heir?” You ask, carefully not slipping out Marius’ name.
“Hm? Which girl?”
“Ah, she has brown hair, which is wrapped in a red beanie, a white turtleneck matched with a yellow cardigan, and a teal pleated skirt.” You’re surprised how you even memorized what she wore.
“Oh, I believe that’s Rosa from the land of fall. She works with Artem Wing.” He says, and you nod, not giving it much thought.
Until it strikes you.
Artem Wing? The famous senior attorney?
“Wait, she works with Artem?!” You exclaim, and Vyn hushes you. “The patients are resting.” He gently reminds you, and you calm down.
“Wait, so, she’s partners with the Artem Wing?” You repeat, this time a bit more calmly. He nods, and readjusts his glasses.
“Yes. I don’t exactly know why she’s with Marius, but I do remember that Marius recently got involved in a murder case.”
You almost spontaneously combust.
“ Murder? ” Your eyes widen, and he nods, completely understanding your shock.
“I don’t believe he’s a murderer, but the evidence is all tied pointing at him.” He sighs. “I think he picked up Rosa to be his attorney for this case. Hopefully all will be well.”
You almost sighed in relief. You too couldn’t believe Marius to be a murderer. He seems like a gentle, young man.
“Why do you look so relieved?” Vyn asks, and you realize that you’ve been a bit too obvious now.
“Well, um…” You cannot escape anymore. You have to admit your tiny, no, HUGE crush around this point. There’s no point in hiding. “I… like Marius.”
Vyn smiles, and you honestly can’t, for the life of you, read what he’s thinking.
“...Have you tried befriending him?” He says, and you shake your head. “Well, that’s a problem.”
Damn, a problem? Is he thinking that Rosa can steal Marius away from you? I mean, she’s really pretty. You doubt she’s a bad person, considering the way you saw them together. You almost want to lose hope and just like someone else, but this little crush grew too strong for you to give up now.
“I don’t think Rosa’s interested in Marius, if that’s what you want to hear.” It’s so crazy how Vyn feels like he can read minds. But then again, he’s a psychologist, he knows human behavior.
“Oh, okay.” You say, looking at your pocket watch, you see that it’s almost time to leave. “I’ll sort a bit of documents here, then I’ll leave.” You inform Vyn, and he nods. “I’ll take a stroll in the palace’s garden after this.” Vyn informs you.
“You don’t have a lesson with the university today?” If you remember correctly, Vyn usually has to go after his shift at the royal palace to the university where he seldomly teaches the Psychology department.
“No, there’s another professor in my place today.” He says. “I want to unwind for today.”
“Ah, I see. Have fun.” You say, going back to your desk, ready to sort some documents before leaving.
—
You’re relaxing at your home, reading through the newspaper. And you spot the murder case among the headlines. You sigh, folding the newspaper, and setting it aside. The last thing you want to read about is your own crush’s murder case.
‘I guess I can go take a walk outside.’
Atleast, that’s what you thought to yourself until you find yourself once again near the border of the land of Winter and Spring.