AN: First Free! fanfiction. Some technical explanations might be boring but bear with me here as I am trying to build a realistic world and logical background for the events. This has a slow build up, so the fic will be quite long.

Haru/Rin (in this order, yes), rating will change, warnings will be added as the story goes. Everyone will show up eventually. I'll use Japanese suffixes like -san and -chan, and Senpai because their absence sounds really off to me in the dialogues. You'll see Bey/Beyim and Aga often. Both words are honorifics along the lines of Lord/My lord and Sir. There will be explanations of some unknown words at the end of the chapters. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Nanase Haruka had two distinct memories dug deep into his psyche from when he was growing up into a young boy: The existence of a merciless sun and the cruel absence of water.

His grandmother, who was the most respected elder of the country, tried to shield him from the harsh reality but Haruka could hear it everywhere and could see it wherever he turned his eyes. He knew it like he knew his name and he felt it in the morrow of his bones.

There was no rain but only the eternal glare of the sun.

The image of that yellow globe, so high above, so majestic and unattainable was stuck burned behind his eyelids, ran through his veins and filled up his core, nestling in the core of his very essence. It was indelible. So much so that, he felt the deepest thirst, the most boundless desire for water like no other could and no one should. His chest hurt, his head swam with the vastness of his longing, but there was no water to quench it, no words to describe it, and no one was wise enough to understand it.

Yet there was something worse than that voracious thirst.

People condemned him. Even though he was their prince, they judged him severely. They said that he was cursed, that he was a punishment sent from heavens to Shalbatana. Since the day he was born, it was rumored that not even a drop of rain fell to the capital city, the clouds passing by above the dried up earth without mercy, going up to the north. The sun blazed in an insatiable fury upon the charred earth. It was so bright, so scorching, and so indomitable in its unchanging deadly beauty. It was their god, they worshiped it, and they revered it and honored it, wishing it would grant them life and prosperity on their lands. But even the once fertile lands were slowly turning arid and barren.

River Arda, which was their source of life, was unable to resist the red glare of the sun, either. The water was diminishing; Arda's flow rate was declining year by year because rain did not fall. The snow water coming from the mountains where Arda was born was not enough to resist the unruly sun that reigned over Shalbatana. And people were whispering about how Haruka was the reason of it, how cursed he was, how damned the people and the lands were to become because their destiny was intertwined with a measly child who did not even knew how to control his own thirst.

"You are the sun!" They were saying. "You control it. Tell it to have mercy upon us!" Even the servants were beseeching him when his father and mother didn't look, whenever he was walking around the palace, whenever someone found him alone. "Tell it to give us life, not take it, Prince!"

Haruka didn't know what to do, didn't understand what the others were saying, why the people were both blaming him and fearing him.

How could he be the sun?

The sun was up there, illuminating everyone, even Haruka. How could he command something so awe inspiring, so grand and deadly and far away with this small fragile body of his? How? Why was he held responsible of all these sadness, desperation, calamity and devastation? He didn't do anything bad. He really didn't.

He could only look on as the land died, taking the people along with it. And knowing that your very existence was deemed the cause of it was the greatest torment a child could ever taste.

"He should be taken away." The Elders were saying, fear and respect in their eyes as Haruka gazed up at them, not understanding why people dreaded him so much. "He is unbalanced now, his thirst is so insatiable that it burns him and in return he burns the lands." The mages were telling. "He should wander around, should never stay somewhere for too long. Until we find a way…" They were bowing to him. "Until he finds his balance..."

It was decided.

No matter how much his mother cried, no matter how much his grandmother protested, nobody cared or listened. Even his father, the king, was powerless against the decision of the Elders. Their kingdom was dying and the king could never let his sole child be targeted for it. Haruka was to leave.

Haruka did not remember much about how he left the palace, how in secrecy he was taken out of the capital city, Behram. He was entrusted to two men who were about his father's age. They were Beys, people of high esteem and status in the palace. His father trusted them. One of them was named Tachibana, the other was Hazuki. They were good people. They did not fear him; they did not treat him as if he was cursed. They talked to him and told him about their own kids, promising him that he'd meet them as soon as possible, that they'd be good friends.

Haruka believed them. He was thankful to them for helping keep his mind away from the devastated faces of his mother and father and that solemn, sad look that his grandmother had. He knew that he wasn't going to see any of them for a long time. Yet at least now, Haruka thought that they were going to be alright and hopefully rain would fall and make everything better.

He was wrong. He did not see the rain.

For miles and miles down to the southwest, they rode. They saw famine, drought, depravity and hopelessness in as many cities and as many villages that they passed. The sun was standing up above them like a guardian, sentencing them to witness how lands turned mad in want of a drop of water. Haruka felt himself going brittle like a little twig.

Illness was everywhere. People were dying both because of the famine and because of having nothing to keep up the hygiene. Cholera and dysentery were becoming common and deadly. They had to do something about it, but Haruka didn't know what other than the thing that was drilled to his mind; that he was the reason of it and he had to go away to end it.

So he went away.

After they were out of the country, they stopped in a village belonging to the country of Qenaan in the southwest. This country was partially situated on the Great Desert but Haruka was thankful that here in this part of it there were no intimidating dunes or irritating sand around. The country was arid but not as much as how Shalbatana had been when they had left it. At least, people could grow grains and herd camels here. More importantly, there were several little brooks around that could be used for irrigation. And the children were certainly happier.

Haruka hoped that rain was falling in Shalbatana now, and as if in answer to his prayers, a messenger coming from the country reported rain. He had never felt that much relief in his entire short life ever.

But soon after they had passed the border of the country, Haruka fell ill.

Neither Hazuki nor Tachibana understood what was wrong. Haruka was rubbing at his eyes and involuntarily crying under the bright light of the sun. The whites of his eyes were irritated, tiny veins visible and he had trouble keeping them open as if there was sand in them. The adults were disturbed by the turn of the events. They were always on the go, so finding a healer to understand what was wrong with their prince was nearly impossible.

Haruka was in pain. He had never thought before that keeping his eyes open would be such a painful experience. But he loathed not being able to see, he feared it greatly. Even though everybody hated how the sun nailed them down into the acrid earth, he loved looking up at it, he loved the fiery red impression that it left behind his eyelids. But, ah… His eyes hurt so much, his eyelids felt so crisp like paper, sandy, and hot. Leaving them open hurt, closing them felt like they scraped over his eyes. He hurt, he hurt so much and with that, his thirst grew.

They couldn't stay in that village for long because, Haruka's presence made itself known quickly. Wherever the boy went, it was as if the humidity in the air vanished without even a sliver of it left. The Beys realized that the more tormented the boy was, the harsher the weather turned and the madder the sun blazed. All they could do was moving and hoping to find someone before their prince went blind with the worsening condition that his eyes got. They even considered returning back to their own country instead of wandering lost at the edge of the desert like this. But with the condition that the prince was in, with the rains that began to shower their homeland as soon as the boy had left, people would surely stigmatize the prince and believe that their claims were proven true.

"The prince is cursed; even his eyes are going to be taken, look. He is drying up like the sun itself!"

They could practically hear the damnation that was to come and the idea was never uttered again. The boy was already going through more than a human could stand. They had to find a way because Haruka could no longer keep his eyes open in the day light. The boy tried to keep himself from rubbing at his eyes, but it was a fruitless effort as the itch was too strong and agonizing to bare. Rheum collected around the lids in an unnatural and excessive way, the upper lids were swollen and red, hot to the touch. All they could do was to wash them as regularly as they could, using their precious water to sooth Haruka's agitation even for a bit.

Haruka was afraid. Never before, not even when he had to leave his home and family behind that he had felt such a fear. He was scared of losing his sight. His eyes became the bane of his existence and torment in such a short amount of time that he couldn't remember how things escalated from mere irritation to not being able to open his eyes at all.

But as time passed and as they traveled, things only got worse. He developed a fever that didn't seem to go down no matter what the two Beys did. They were in their fifth month of travel and Haruka had been ill for more than a month now. Even though they knew that their prince was practically exiled from his country, his condition was worsening in an alarming way. They had to reconsider their earlier idea of returning. But what if someone targeted his life for coming back? One would think that nobody would be crazy enough to lay a hand on someone who was considered as the sun itself, but… A hopeless man had nothing to lose when desperation dictated survival against all costs. And their prince refused to return.

Haruka rejected the idea of going back in such fervor that the Beys were astonished at his stubborn and unshakable decision. He told them just to not stop until they'd find someone to heal him, until someone would come along and end his misery.

Soon after a week, Haruka was reduced to spend most of his time as half delirious with a wet cloth covering his eyes like a blindfold, on horseback. They were traveling deep into the more populated parts of the Qenaan country, milder in weather and richer in water.

They stopped at a large village on the outskirts of Shari, Qenaan's capital city in the north. An elder woman checked Haruka and told them that the ailment in his eyes was a contagious one and it was a miracle how the adults hadn't contacted it yet. She prepared things to relieve the pain and reduce the inflammation but told them that she couldn't cure it completely. But Haruka was ready to settle even for a moment's respite from the torment that he was going through.

Well into the third week of his fever, he believed that he was slowly going crazy. He was seeing young girls. Even though his eyes were closed, he was seeing young girls following him wherever he went, giggling at him, trying to touch him, dancing around him. They looked as if they were made of gold, so brilliant, so beautiful and energetic. Their hair flew around them as if spun from the sun rays, intricate, ephemeral, and so stunning. They were talking to him animatedly with hopeful looks on their faces but he could only watch.

The Beys found lodging in an earthen house, doing everything the elder woman had advised them. But the fever did not go down. The prince could open his eyes now even though it stung horribly, but he was telling them that he could barely see. Tachibana was worried that the fever would impair the already abused eyes of their charge, because Haruka's gaze was cloudy and empty.

Of course the two Beys didn't know what Haruka was seeing even when he couldn't open his eyes, whenever he could collect himself enough to think through the slow burn that was his fever.

The girls were telling him things even though he couldn't make out a word. Wherever they walked they seemed to create a map of golden threads and he was amazed and afraid that his finger tips were connected to the threads that the girls were weaving with their small feet. He felt like a pitiful spider that was caught in his own web. His insides felt charred as if no water could ever redeem him from his ashes again.

He thought that dying was quite a harrowing affair.

As Tachibana kept in contact with the messengers and looked after Haruka, Hazuki didn't sit around, either. He searched and looked for someone in the city, seeing that their prince was about to boil in his own blood. The little boy was half conscious and no longer spoke to them, no longer ate or even heard them. Hazuki wished that they could counsel with the mages of their country but there was no time for that. He rode his horse from inn to inn, asking and hoping.

Maybe by a miracle, maybe by the hand of destiny, Hazuki found someone. The people in a small tavern told him about a healer who was able to heal all the sick within a week before he left for the next town a day before. It was unbelievable, they'd say. He can really cure anything! And all Hazuki needed before he rushed back onto the road was to know where the healer was headed to.

He rode his horse so hard to reach the healer that Hazuki pitied the animal, but it paid off. He found two men around his age who were traveling with a boy towards the village that Tachibana and their prince were staying at. Approaching the sinister looking guys was a feat. One of them had such a shock of rust hued red hair that he looked like a fire demon; the other had steely teal eyes, sharpened like knives. He told them their story, told them that their charge was ill, that people were talking about the healer who could cure anything. The two men seemed ready to dice him into pieces, doubtful, but they came with him since they were eventually headed there either way.

Hazuki wondered which of the men the famed healer was. Both of them looked as fierce as it got. He hoped that whoever the healer was, he really could be of some help because, he couldn't think of an alternative where they'd lose their prince. The men talked little and the boy with them had a wistful look about him as if he missed something, as if he wished to be somewhere else. Hazuki realized that the emotion played in those eyes was the same as their prince had whenever he thought that no one looked. Now the prince's eyes were vacant on the mere occasion that they opened.

Hazuki had spent five days in search and in returning back to the village and when he invited the other men in, Haruka was a ghost of his earlier self. Not that the boy had been any good before he had left but this was too much. He shared a meaningful look with Tachibana who was sitting besides the prince, one hand buried in his khalat, in case something would happen.

"An elder told us that the condition in his eyes is contagious, please be careful." Hazuki sat at the foot of the bed and nodded towards the other boy, indicating that they should keep the child away. But astonishingly, the boy approached and sat beside the bed and smiled sweetly.

"Don't worry, please. I'll be alright." He pushed up his sleeves and leaned on the prince who was mumbling incomprehensible things in his fever frayed sleep. "This is bad…" The boy's brows furrowed. "The condition in his eyes looks like trachoma. He kept rubbing at them, didn't he?" He asked, his eyes looking older than his body was. Tachibana numbly nodded and Hazuki watched him with a slackened jaw. "He must have caught it from someplace where there is little water but are large herds. How long has he been like this?"

"A-about two months for his eyes, three weeks for his fever..." Hazuki answered, still disbelieving. "But, wait, wait, wait… Is he the healer?!" He asked to the teal eyed male in utter surprise and a little belittling tone in his voice.

The teal eyed male nodded from where he stood by the entrance. "He is the healer." He enunciated with a serious posture.

"But… How? Are you trying to swindle us?" Tachibana looked as rattled as Hazuki felt but he was still ready to draw his sword if it was needed.

"Gentlemen…" The fiery haired man intervened, his countenance exuding calmness and authority. "Just let him have a look at your charge."

"Yes, it is as he says…" The boy began to talk without tearing his eyes away from his patient, serene and to the point.

"He'll go blind if this is not treated." He declared, wiser than his years. "Bring me boiled water quickly. Let's clean his eyes a bit."

Hazuki got up and went to do as he was told.

"I need some cloths. Clean pieces. If there is none, boil some in water and bring them, too."

Tachibana was the one who took up the task.

"And one more thing…" The boy stopped, for the first time looking up at the adults. "What is his name?"

"Haruka..." Tachibana answered, witnessing how learning that brought a huge smile on the boy's face.

Haruka woke up to the sound of his name being called as if coming from a far away dream. He concentrated on the voice, trying to move, but it was impossible to twitch even a finger. Yet the voice persisted. It was a beautiful voice, hearing it was clearing Haruka's mind. It belonged to a boy and all of a sudden, forgetting his torment, Haruka wanted to open his eyes and see him. The desire was so strong that when he finally managed to crack his eyelids a bit, he cried in pain and disappointment, because all he saw was a bluish light and the girls. They danced around the light and Haruka spent every bit of his energy to see past the light and find out who the owner of the voice was.

"Good! That's very good, Haruka!" The other was commending him, his voice cheerful, so happy. For a moment, Haruka resented that happiness. Here, he was in so much pain, he was going crazy, and he was boiling and blistering. What was to be cheerful about it? Yet the other's voice was like an anchor and despite his irritation, he held onto it dearly.

"Now then… I know it's hard but open your eyes further, Haruka, open them and look up at me."

Ah… He wanted nothing more than being able to do that. But he couldn't. There was only light. Frustration gnawed at his insides and he tried to move, asking for water, repeating the demand like a mantra.

He felt a soft touch under his head, "Here…" But then… "Ow!" The voice recoiled after its owner let him go. "You are burning! How can anyone be alive with this fever?" The boy's bewilderment was so strong that it even made Haruka flinch, his breath laboring further as if there wasn't enough air.

"Isn't it normal? He is running a fever." Another voice, it was Tachibana-san and another touch, a bigger hand.

"You can touch him?" The boy asked, astonished. "It is... It is like he is melting! He is burning like the sun."

And there was silence after that comment, as if it had been a condemnation. But Haruka wanted that hand to return. It felt cool for a moment there. He wanted the feeling back.

"How can someone run a fever like this for weeks yet still survive…" It was not a question, the boy was murmuring to himself in utter disbelief.

"Alright, alright... Bring it near." Sound of water and then the touch returned, wet and cool and life giving and taking Haruka's breath away like he had never breathed before.

"Calm down, Haruka… Calm down…" The boy was cooing to him and Haruka loved to hear that tone.

"Pour water over us." The other ordered and Haruka started to violently shiver when his body was drenched slowly.

"Open up." And the next moment he was drinking the most delicious and the freshest water that he had ever drunk, mending him deep inside.

"Slowly… There, there… Slowly, Haruka…" There was a smile in the boy's voice and the water finished all too soon.

"Give me a piece of cloth." But without a warning, agony captured him. His eyes were being wiped at; the lids were being coaxed open. And surprisingly, he started to trash, reaching up to the boy who was holding his head and upper body to him and grabbed at him wherever he could. His touch made the other cry in pain but the skin was so cool, so life giving that Haruka couldn't stop himself. He burrowed to the other as much as humanly possible, his grip vice like. "Water, pour water over us!" The smile was gone from the voice and the arms that held him were trembling, but Haruka was far beyond from registering the pain he was inflicting. And after a few splashes over their bodies, one of the adults forcefully pried him from the other boy, making him wail in loss like a siren. The golden girls were giggling at him.

The adults around him fussed over the other boy, some of them a bit angry, the others apologetic. But Haruka didn't register most of the conversation, mumbling for water again, crying involuntarily and reaching blindly for the other boy.

"You have to endure." The other's voice sounded a bit put off, but all the same, he touched his forehead courageously, even though he flinched a bit. Soft whispers surrounded him in a language he had never heard before but he likened it to the noise the water made as it fell on the stone and the earth and the leaves. Water was continually splashed to his head, cleaning his eyes and face, calming him a bit.

"You sleep now." The boy said. "You'll need it next time you wake up, Haruka." And the voice cooed him back to sleep in that unknown language.

"I can't believe you let him endure such a scorching fever for so long. His eyes are damaged. If you leave this alone, he'll lose his sight and eventually die." The boy declared after Haruka's breath calmed down. "Actually, it is a miracle he had survived this long!"

"But nothing can bring his temperature down. We tried so many medicines and herbs." Tachibana protested in anguish.

"This fever is not because of an illness." The boy looked back at their prince, now his own face solemn and upset. "He is tired." He mumbled thoughtfully. "He has come a long way, hasn't he? He is so tired and his soul is so worn out that only water could heal him." It was as if the boy was talking about himself, too, Hazuki thought, but the moment passed when he turned his determined gaze back to the adults. "Bring us to a water body here. I'll wash him there. It'll be the fastest solution, though it'll hurt a lot."

Haruka didn't know but, these words created quite the argument among the adults, the boy listening to them patiently, knowing that in the end he'd cure the other boy either this way or that way. His patient was too sick to endure any more of this fever. But instinctively, when their skin contacted, he understood that the black haired one didn't need normal medicine. He had never seen someone like this. If he had to describe it, Haruka was like a dried up plum. Human body consisted of quite a good amount of water, but the one in Haruka was nearly dead, causing great suffering to the black haired boy. How could someone become like this, he didn't know, but at least there was a fool proof solution for it even though it hurt like there was no tomorrow. Yet he believed that Haruka was strong enough to endure it.

As the others argued, mostly Tachibana trying to dispel his doubts, Hazuki watched the other boy. The kid looked so innocent and devoted. He thought that the small kid could easily be the definition of purity and strength of believing in the goodness of things. There was a sad kind of gentle smile on the boy's face as he cooed to his patient, massaging the prince's forehead. Hazuki could see that the palm of the kid was an angry red, as if it was burnt and blistered, but the boy was no longer flinching. His eyes going wide, Hazuki asked. "Is that a burn in your palm?"

The kid looked up at him and sheepishly drew his hand back and reached to his neck to rub at his nape. "Yes, but I'll heal myself later, it's nothing." And Hazuki saw some other angry red burns on the child's neck area where their prince had grabbed at before. His mouth slackened in shock.

The child's confession alerted his guardians. The teal eyed one immediately went to him and looked into his hand, his face turning murderous in an instant. "You are not doing this!" He hissed like a doting parent would.

The child regarded him calmly and to Hazuki's surprise, he took on a serious look. "No, I will. He'll die sooner or later if I don't."

The adults exchanged looks that told a lot but it was as if the boy's words were final. "So, will you take us to the water or not?" He asked.

Tachibana and Hazuki eventually gave their consent. "But know that it'll cause great pain. He'll scream and cry a lot, but he'll be cured even from the illnesses you haven't realized yet."

They didn't know what to do with that information but they were desperate enough to try everything.

The next thing Haruka knew was that the feeling of being submerged into water as his body was passed from a strong embrace to a frail child's arms. Even through the haze of his consciousness, he immediately recognized the owner of the arms and relaxed. The other held him cautiously, gently as they sat in a shallow body of water. The pain was immense but the relief that the water gave was wonderful. He tried to open his eyes, tried to move in that small cool embrace, but he couldn't.

"Haruka, do you know how to swim?" The boy was asking in a small voice. "I know and I wish we could swim here together. This lake is so beautiful and cool. It is so friendly and it agreed to help you." Haruka honed in onto the voice with everything he got. He was crying. "Haruka, it will hurt. It'll hurt quite a lot, but try to bear it, because you'll be as good as new, okay? I promise."

If he could, Haruka would beg the other to spare him from the pain that he was already going through, but all he could do was tremble in the water, his world narrowed down to that sweet, merry voice. Then it started.

The boy began to talk. The language was the same as the sound of water moving and Haruka felt the water around them stir, tremble and shiver like a human being or a great animal would do. It grew colder and it enveloped him like a tight second skin, Haruka had never felt something like this. It was as if he was being sucked into a glass bell jar, his ears popping, and his eyes starting to burn. But this was the tolerable part.

Suddenly a flash of light flooded his eyes and he saw the golden girls around him, this time silent, looking on at him in awe, in fear. With that sight came such a ferocious pain from deep within his own core that he started to scream like had never done before. His voice hurt his own ears but even that was not enough to express the magnitude of what he was going through. He was trashing madly, but the water had hands and it kept him in place, causing great fear in him, making him think that this torture was inescapable and infinite.

His whole body was out of his control, something worked in his veins, in his marrows, shred by shred, bit by tiny bit. He believed that he was bleeding from his ears, eyes and nose, all his hair was uprooted and nails were being pulled. The girls watched.

He didn't know how long the pain lasted, but when it subsided, he was surrounded by a blue light, soft and cold, comfortable. He snuggled deeper into the embrace of the other boy, listening to his mysterious words. He felt boneless, he felt as if he was one with the water, as if he was lying among cool sheets of finest silk. As the boy was washing his eyes, he was crying softly, burrowing to the crook of the other's neck, this time finding the power to return his embrace, making the boy laugh.

"I think you feel quite alright now, ne, Haruka?" The merry voice asked and he shivered, rejuvenated, completely cleansed, and completely new. Haruka just hummed and nuzzled his cheek to the other, making him laugh again. It was unbelievable how he felt as if he wasn't the one who had gone through all that torment for two months. But he was alright now. All he wanted was this wonderful feeling of being surrounded by water and being in the other's arms to continue as he slept and slept.

"Remember Haruka." The voice called to him, clearing his mind from the impending sleep for a moment. "When you wake up, come and see this lake, okay? Thank it for lending me its hand. Thank it for granting us life." He hummed again and held onto his savior as if he'd never let go and he was thankful that until the moment that he lost consciousness, the other let him cling, petting his hair, cooing to him in that strangly beautiful language of his.

When Haruka woke up five days later, he was overwhelmed. He could see again, his eyes didn't hurt and his fever was gone. Taking all these in took some time as his guardians doted on him, happy and thankful that their prince was healthy again, their eyes tearful. But what Haruka wanted to see more than anything was that other boy who cured him. He did not remember most of what happened in his delirium, but he recalled those cool hands, life giving, merciful, gentle, pure and powerful. He could remember that sweet merry voice talking to him, asking and telling him things, laughing, chirping in a language he didn't know, calming and encouraging him. He knew that he was someone around his age but had so much inner strength and so much generosity. He wanted to touch the other again, see for himself if he really felt as crystal cool as he remembered, see if life would flow to him where he'd touch him.

But… The boy was gone.

What jarred Haruka more was the adults telling him that they did not see any shimmering blue light, no stirring of water or anything otherworldly as Haruka had experienced. All they saw was the boy washing their prince as he murmured a spell like thing and their prince screaming and trashing in the shallow bank of the lake.

Haruka had never been more disappointed than he was now, both with himself and with the turn of the events, doubting his sanity. Was everything a fever induced dream or what… He didn't even get to see the boy even though he had wanted to do it so much that it hurt.

"How was he like?" He asked, deciding that he'd keep the meager memory of what he had experienced to himself to be not labeled as mad.

"He was a sweet kid, always smiling, his eyes twinkling." They'd say. "He was small just like you. He was amazing. He cured you and looked after you for two days here."

"But how was he like?" He questioned again, meeting with uncomprehending eyes.

"He was a gentle boy. He was…"

"His eyes? His hair? His name?" Haruka interrupted in a rare show of impatience.

And the adults looked at each other in a slowly dawning horror, realizing that they remembered nothing about the boy who cured their prince. "We… We didn't ask his name, yes… But I don't quite remember if he had brown hair or blonde hair." Tachibana muttered in shock.

"Neither do I…" Hazuki joined, slapping his forehead in self deprecation. "What kind of horrifying people that we have met! I can't believe how unguardedly we had trusted them. We were jinxed by them!"

"Horrifying?" Haruka protested. "But I am cured!" The Beys had nothing to say to that, understanding that their guests probably had a reason for secrecy. "I hope you have rewarded them accordingly."

Tachibana's eyebrows rose in dejection. "They didn't take it no matter how much money we had offered to them. The boy refused my every offer but I gifted them a pair of janbiya that my grandfather had made by hand, my prince."

Haruka nodded, bowing his head. He really wanted to meet that boy. It was such a desire that it ached as if the other boy threw a hook and caught one of his heartstrings and wherever he was going now; he was dragging that thread connected to his heart and pulling it, making it twinge. But he couldn't voice any of it, marveling at the maddening sensation that the water left on his skin. He wondered would it still be the same if he'd swim in that lake that he was cured in. He promised himself to visit it, not because he remembered the words of the boy, but simply because he was curious.

Yet the biggest of the shocks was yet to come. After he recuperated for over a week, getting his energy back enough to travel again, he stepped outside in the morning as the sun was about to rise.

What he saw made him fully come to terms with the fact that he was completely crazy. The girls were back, they appeared out of thin air as the sun shone on them, as if making them visible to the eye slowly. They were all looking at him with awe in their eyes. Then one of them fell to her kneels and reverenced him.

"Good morning, our king! Bid us whatever you will!"

All the other girls knelt, too, and repeated the same thing, looking up at him, waiting for him to acknowledge them.

Later, Haruka was going to learn that he was actually quite sane even though he was the only one who could see and hear the girls. They were named Arinna, servants of their Sun God, and he could command them. As he grew up, he realized that not only the sun maidens, but also the fire djinns, called Ifreeth, would do his bidding -yet not always with the same obedience.

But for now, he chose to run back to their earthen house to hide there until he found the courage enough to face them, the girls laughing at his retreating back fondly.

TBC…

Khalat is a loose long sleeved outher robe, short like a jacket or long like a mantle, made from cotton or silk. It is the dark gray robe that Rin wears in the ED.

Turban is a head wear, generally made from long pieces of cloth, worn by men and woman alike with different wrapping styles, varying in shape and color.

Janbiya is a distinctly shaped, curved dagger used among Arabic cultures, worn under the belt on the side of the user.

Arinna is the name of the Hittite Sun Goddess. In this universe, it is the umbrella term used for the maidens of the Sun God that is worshipped in Shalbatana and some other countries bordering it. They distribute the rays of the sun, giving life to everything, looking out for the fertility and longevity of the lands, people, and animals.

Ifreeth (originally efreet, ifreet, afreet) is a fire djinn/demon. They generally live in the hearts of the houses, they are territorial and generally disobedient. They can be a source of warmth, safety, and light while also be the cause of great misfortune and destruction.

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