"Don't you think this would backfire, Master?" Craig asked as soon as Sienna stormed out of the room.
"It won't." Isaac replied with utmost certainty.
He was so sure of it, and Craig couldn't understand why. He couldn't compare, though; the way his master thought had always been different, sharper, always able to discern countless information from something so small.
"Also, Master, Ray sent information that the King visited your chamber in the palace today," Craig said.
Isaac's expression remained unchanged. "Well, it's already very certain that a war would happen between Dilrik and Subrind, so that's expected. Didn't know it would be this early, though." He stood up, his movements fluid. "Let's wrap things up here as soon as possible and return before he discovers I'm gone."
"Yes, sir." Craig followed after him.
---
After that meeting, Sienna's state wasn't so good. Various thoughts kept running through her mind, so much so that she had to skip a major surgery the following morning because she wasn't in the right state of mind to perform it.
In truth, she was an orphan. Orphaned at birth with no family, she could trace her origin back to. The first eight years of her life were spent in a run-down orphanage, surviving on minimal care and no hope, until she diagnosed the then president's wife with blood cancer when she came to visit the orphanage, with just a glance and no formal education.
She had almost been beaten to death then for spouting nonsense until the president's wife went for a checkup, and her ailment was confirmed.
The government realized her potential immediately. They removed her from the orphanage to be trained in the best facilities the nation could offer. Honestly, when it came to practical intelligence, she wasn't so smart. She was clumsy with most basic things except medicine of course that at one point even her teachers began to doubt her knowledge because she was just too helpless outside her element.
But she had done so well sticking very close to medicine during all her years of training. At sixteen, she sat for the Global Medical Competency Exam and the United Council Medical Board Exam and killed them with flying colors. She was the youngest among every person that wrote the exam then, and she was the highest scorer among them. Undoubtedly, she caused a worldwide sensation.
She became a certified medical doctor and began practicing. From age sixteen till her current age of twenty-six, she had built herself a reputation, never missing a diagnosis, never failing in a surgery.
She was still bound to the government, or at least that's what she felt. The new president had granted her individual freedom five years ago, but she knew she owed all she had now to the government. Which meant she would be ungrateful to betray them.
Dilrik had a very crazy morality standard. An unmarried man or woman having carnal knowledge of each other could be jailed. So if those pictures were to leak, she could lose everything. And it could be worse if the identity of the man in the picture were discovered. She would lose everything, become the ungrateful person she didn't want to be, and be executed for treason; that was just worse.
"How are you faring?"
She suddenly heard Rowan's voice behind her, breaking her spiraling thoughts. She was standing on a balcony in a quieter part of the hospital, and she turned to look at him with a forced smile.
"Good."
He could tell at a glance she was lying. He walked forward until he was standing beside her and passed her the mango milkshake in his hand, her favorite.
She smiled slightly, this time for real. "Thank you," she said softly.
Silence settled between the two of them, heavy with unspoken words.
"You know, you can tell me anything," Rowan finally said after a long moment. "You know the saying, a problem shared is half solved."
"I'm fine, just a little sick, probably because I've been working myself too much." Sienna sipped the milkshake, avoiding his gaze.
Rowan went silent. He knew she was lying, but he had no evidence to push further.
"I'll just go take a rest. Sorry for worrying you, and thanks for the milkshake." Sienna walked away.
It was obvious she was dodging his questions, and he really wished she wouldn't. He wanted her to be free with him, talk about things, and smile with him. Cry to him if she were sad. He wanted her to depend on him.
But she never did, no matter what he did.
He knew how she saw him, a superior. And even though nothing had changed despite him hoping all these years, he was still hoping the way she saw him would change one day. That she would finally look at him with those eyes he always hoped to see.