I fell in love with you in my new life

POV – Luahn

It was frustrating.

It had been almost a year since I awakened the Yang energy. Since my body finally showed signs that it wasn't broken.

Since the illusory ears and tail manifested themselves... like a promise that I too could belong.

And yet...

I couldn't use the elements, let alone my ears and tail, which also seemed to be made of energy. I only knew about them from my mother; I could never see or touch them.

Every time I tried, I felt that invisible current run through me, as if something were igniting inside. But it wasn't like the others described it.

It didn't burn like fire, nor did it tremble like earth.

It was just... there, silent, as if something was preventing me from seeing it.

And so, every time I failed, the same question came back to me:

"Am I really one of them?"

"You're not concentrating properly."

"Yes, I am."

"Then you're not feeling it."

"Yes, I am! But nothing's happening..."

Emilia crossed her arms, exasperated. She looked at me with that expression of hers that I couldn't tell if it meant "I'm upset" or "I'm worried about you."

We were in the clearing behind the Hypnos Tree temple. A place that she and I had made our own since we were little. No one usually came here, which is why it was perfect.

"Do you feel it now?"

"Yes."

"And how does it feel?"

"...Like... a cold fog running under my skin. But every time I try to get it out..."

"Does it hide?"

"...Yes."

"Can I try something?"

I turned around, puzzled. Emilia didn't have that teasing expression she sometimes showed when we played; she was in serious mode right now.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Just give me your hands."

"Huh?"

"Your. Hands."

I obeyed, she took my hands in hers and closed her eyes.

"Think of me," she said.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just do it. Remember how you feel me. Trust."

We inhaled.

We exhaled.

One...

Two...

Three times.

And then...

I felt something flowing toward me.

Her energy.

Strong. Sincere. Balanced.

It was as if her presence cleared the fog.

As if by touching me... she gave me the control I didn't have.

A tingling sensation built up in my fingers. A tremor.

A pure, clean, living cold.

I opened my eyes. And I saw it.

Frost.

Thin, bluish, with bright reflections. Forming from our palms, spreading like a tiny circle on the grass.

"Are you... seeing that?"

"You did it!" she said, her eyes wide, shining with excitement.

The frost didn't stop. It covered the ground around us, as if marking a boundary. A border.

A symbol.

"My element..." I whispered. 

"It's ice."

Emilia nodded, with a big smile.

Not proud of herself.

Proud of me.

"I knew you could do it. You just needed a little help."

"I don't understand... how was it possible?"

"Because it's not just a matter of strength. It's connection. Emotion.

You... you've always held so much inside you that you've forgotten to let it out."

I fell silent.

And for the first time in a long, long time...

I didn't feel empty.

I felt that something completed me.

Not just the ice.

But her.

"Thank you, Emilia."

"Don't thank me. You still have to make an ice sculpture of my face."

"What?"

"I want a throne too. An elegant one. With engravings and everything."

"That's too much!"

"Shhh. I'm your benefactor. The least I deserve is a sculpture."

We both laughed.

But inside me, something had changed.

And I knew it then.

It wasn't just a moment of power.

It was the beginning of what I was truly capable of.

*

POV - Emilia

Luahn was never weak.

I knew it.

I always knew it.

Ever since we were children and he stood up to the older kids with a wooden sword almost taller than himself. Ever since he cleaned his wounds before his mother saw them, so as not to worry her. Ever since he smiled even when everyone looked at him as if he didn't belong.

He wasn't weak. He was just... waiting to wake up.

And that day... he finally did.

It wasn't the first time we had trained together in the clearing.

It was our place. A small space hidden behind the temple, covered with wildflowers, and the constant murmur of water from a nearby stream.

But today, there was something different in the air.

Maybe it was because of that time we fell asleep reminiscing about pleasant moments.

Or the way his voice sounded so full of frustration when he said, "I'm sorry, I can't," made my body move on its own.

I didn't think about it.

I just acted.

I approached him, took his hands in mine, and asked him to breathe with me.

Not because of magic or some technique.

Out of trust.

Because I knew him.

I knew how much he had been carrying alone.

And if for a moment I could hold that burden with him, I would do it a thousand times over.

"Think of me," I said.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just do it. Remember how you feel me. Trust."

When he closed his eyes, I felt it.

It wasn't his mana that was moving...

It was him.

It was his essence, his will, his struggle contained for years.

And then it happened.

An icy breeze brushed my wrists.

Crystalline frost appeared where our hands touched.

Thin. Blue. Pure.

"You did it!" I said, holding back a cry of excitement.

I had never seen such a soft, clean elemental manifestation.

Most kids created sparks, bursts, or small uncontrolled explosions at first.

But Luahn...

Luahn created beauty.

A circle of frost formed around us.

His eyes were shining, not just because of the blue light...

But because, at last, he believed in himself.

"My element is... ice," he whispered, his voice trembling.

I could only nod because of all the feelings I was experiencing at that moment.

I didn't tell him, but my cheeks were burning.

Maybe because of the excitement.

Or because for a moment, when our eyes met, I felt something that had no name.

It wasn't like when we played.

Or when we trained.

It was different, something new, and that scared me.

But not in a bad way.

"Thank you, Emilia."

"Don't thank me. You still have to make an ice sculpture of my face."

"What?"

"I want a throne too. An elegant one. With engravings and everything."

"That's too much!"

"Shhh. I'm your muse. The least I deserve is a sculpture."

We both laughed.

"Besides, you're the one who did it. It was because that strength was always there.

I just showed you the way."

"No. You're the bridge."

I raised my head.

"The bridge?"

"Yes. The one that connects who I am... with who I want to be."

I swallowed hard.

I felt that if I spoke again, my voice would tremble.

"You know?" I said, trying to divert the moment, "According to the books, ice is a symbol of emotional control, patience, and clarity."

"Are you saying I'm cold?"

"No! I'm saying that maybe, deep down inside, you're made of calm."

He laughed again.

So did I.

When we stopped laughing, the silence was different.

It wasn't uncomfortable.

It was as if the world had stopped for a second to let us breathe.

And in that second... I realized something.

I don't know when it happened.

I don't know if it was while we were training, while we were healing our wounds together, or when we were fighting over shiny stones or over who should give up the last piece of bread.

But it happened.

Something inside me...

Changed.

I no longer saw him as just my childhood friend.

No longer just as the different kid who needed support.

Now I saw him as someone... much more important, even than my parents.

Someone I wanted to grow up with, as always.

Someone I wanted to keep seeing... more and more.

And even though I still didn't fully understand what it was that was beating so strongly in my chest...

I knew it wasn't going to go away.

Because Luahn was my calm.

*

POV - Emilia

From the day Luahn managed to control ice, or at least with my help for the first time, something inside me settled.

It was as if a knot that had been tight in my chest for years had been untied.

But at the same time, something outside tensed up.

"Because now that Luahn had an element, even if his control was still minimal, at least when he wasn't linked to me, his power could no longer be ignored. You only had to look at him to notice it. And that was enough for people's attitudes to change."

Some with respect. Others with fear. Many with hatred.

You can't go on with him as if nothing had happened."

Remin's words reached me one afternoon. I was resting in the courtyard after class with Liifa and Selena. The breeze blew gently among the banners hanging in the academy. But his voice... it was like a stone in my stomach.

I got up slowly.

Liifa looked at me, worried.

Selena shook her head.

"Be careful, Emilia..." Liifa whispered.

"You have no right to say that to me," I replied bluntly.

Remin took a step toward me. His face showed no anger... but something worse, resentment.

"You have him by your side all the time. You help him. You praise him. What do you think people think?"

"Do I care?"

"You should!"

"Why?"

There was a silence.

And then he said it.

"Because you're not just anyone. You're the daughter of a respected old family. The granddaughter of a hero. You should be with someone worthy, not a half-breed who—!"

PAH!

My hand interrupted him before his mouth could finish that sentence.

Not with a blow.

With a splash of water that drenched his entire face, thrown with a flick of my wrist.

Remin stepped back, soaked. His hair fell over his face, dripping, and his expression was a mixture of surprise and contained rage.

"Say that again and I swear I won't hold back."

"Are you crazy?!"

"Because I'm tired of it."

I took a step forward. My voice didn't waver.

"I'm tired of you trying to talk to me as if we had something. As if what I do with my life has to be approved by you."

"I'm just trying to help you."

"Help me with what? Who should I talk to? Who can I spend time with and who can't I?" I looked at him with narrowed eyes. 

"Do you really think you can say that to me?"

"It's not that, Emilia. It's just that... he's different. I don't understand why you treat him like he's so important."

I took a slow breath.

"Because he is. Because I've known him for as long as I can remember. Because we played together before we even knew what training was. Because he was there when no one else knew what to say, you don't know anything."

Remin pressed his lips together. He looked down for a second. Then he looked up again, defiantly.

"But I wanted to get closer. I was always trying to. It's just that you never—"

"I never asked you to."

"Exactly! You never looked at me!"

"And that gives you the right to judge what I do choose to see?"

He didn't answer.

The tension around us was palpable. Some people were watching, others were pretending not to notice. But no one interrupted.

"Remin..." I said in a lower but firm tone. "We weren't close in the first place. We were just classmates. But I never promised you anything more than that. And you didn't win her over just by insisting."

His jaw tensed.

"And he did earn it, just by being... him?"

"He didn't earn it, nor did he need to. Because he never demanded anything from me. He never sought my attention. He just accompanied me, he was by my side."

Liifa approached, touching my shoulder.

"Emilia... it's okay. You said what you had to say."

But I didn't move. I just took a step back. I took a deep breath.

I looked at Remin one last time.

"You don't have to understand. Just accept that not everything revolves around you. I don't care that you're the son of a prominent family. I'm not interested in you in the slightest."

And without waiting for a response, I turned away.

Liifa followed me.

Selena too.

Behind me, I heard Remin stamp his foot on the ground in frustration. But I didn't say anything else.

Because for the first time...

I knew I had said exactly what I needed to say.

"I think you said more than you needed to, Emilia," Liifa said, somewhat concerned.

"Yes, he might take it the wrong way. Was it worth saying all that?" Selena added.

"Of course it was worth it! If I don't do it, no one else will. Because all they know how to do is repeat their parents' prejudices. Like parrots who don't understand what they're saying."

In the distance, Remin was red.

Soaked.

Humiliated.

And the worst part was that I knew it wouldn't end there.

Later, as I walked alone through the hallways, I felt the stares.

I knew many were concerned.

Others disapproving.

But I didn't care.

Because for the first time, I felt that my words were not only defending me.

But also him.

"What are you going to do if Remin goes with his family?" Liifa asked me that night.

"Whatever I have to do."

"They could punish you or something."

"Then let them punish me."

"... Does Luahn mean that much to you?"

I stopped.

The question hung in the air.

Like an arrow without a bow.

Like an unspoken thought.

I didn't answer.

I just looked down... and smiled.

Not a haughty smile.

Not defiant.

A gentle smile.

Like the frost we had seen together recently.

Perhaps, without knowing it at the time... I had already made my choice.

And that choice could have consequences.

But it was also... worth the risk.