Chapter Thirty Seven: Recovery

Mahalis woke up.

The first thing he felt was the pain. An intense burning in his gut that made him immediately curl up in place, wrapping his arms around his stomach as he moaned. His eyes were tightly shut, his body shaking with the agony.

He couldn't remember why he felt this way. He didn't even remember where he was, all he knew was that something terrible had happened. Why hadn't he been healed? Where was Hilin, where was Kara? His shaking became greater and he heard voices, distant though they were some small part of him strained to here them, even as the rest of him continued to be eroded by wave after wave of torment.

“Healer! He's awake! What;s wrong with him, why is he thrashing like this?”

The voice he knew all too well. He listened to it often, in reality and in his dreams. Kara. The princess of Keltano and his friend.

He heard the sounds of footsteps and then someone was pressing their hands on him, trying to hold him in place, but the pain was too great and Mahalis fought to get away. The small, rational part of his mind told him that they were trying to help him, but the larger irrational side wanted nothing more than to escape, from the suffering and the person who had caused it.

“I don't know what's wrong, we've tried everything. The healing is working but very slowly. We need to keep him in bed. Who knows how much damage he could do to himself if he gets up too soon.”

Mahalis' thrashing intensified as he began to hit the person that the hands belonged to. He needed to get away, needed to escape. He couldn't stay here. He couldn't stay here!

“Mahalis, it's Kara, you have to remain calm. Please, if you move too soon you're going to hurt yourself.” That soothing voice appeared again and he felt soft hands place themselves on his face. For a moment, he faltered, the rational mind coming to the forefront as Kara's hands pressed against him and put him at ease. Then he saw something. It was a flash, an image, passing through his mind so fast that he could barely make sense of it. But make sense of it he did, and that image terrified him.

He saw a young man, brown hair and bright green eyes. Those eyes were filled with a fury that could destroy armies while his face was taunt with barely contained wrath. The energy that rolled off of him was immense, pressing down on Mahalis, pushing into his own aura and decimating it. Mahalis was screaming but his cries were silent, he couldn't get his body to obey him. Then he felt himself be reduced to nothing and the image disappeared. Mahalis screamed.

“We need to put him to sleep! Bring me some Farothian herb, now!”

Mahalis began to jump in his place, pushing against the hands of both Kara and the Healer, the green eyes of the man who had done this to him seemed to burn their way back into his brain and he felt his aura begin to shiver and contract at the thought of seeing him again.

“Healer, he's drawing mana! We need to knock him out now!”

“Just a second, I need to grind the herb, you need to keep him in that bed!”

Mahalis felt someone leap on top of him straddling him and pushing his flailing body back down onto the bed. He fought as hard as he could, trying to stop this attacker from causing him more pain, but this person was stronger than him and he felt his arms be forced back down to the bed even as he continued to shake his head violently, trying to give himself something to work with. He wouldn't give up, he would escape this place. He would make it back to his mother and father.

“Open his mouth!” came a cry from Mahalis' right.

Hearing the sound the elven prince immediately locked his mouth shut even as hands tried to pry it open. Those same hands had earlier soothed him, but now they burned like molten fire.

“Be careful! We have to make sure he doesn't accidentally bite off his tongue!” Said the same voice, closer than before.

It was then that he felt that other pair of hands help the first. His defences were broken, his mouth pulled open and a thick and bitter substance was poured in.

Before he could even think of spitting it out, the hands clamped over his mouth, preventing him from doing so. It wasn't long before he was forced to swallow and the effects of the herb began to show themselves. His thrashing stopped and his body went limp.

“Don't worry, I'm right here. I'm right here.” The voice of Kara came from the abyss to comfort him once more, her soft hand stroking his hair as he fell, once again, into unconsciousness.

* * *

It was with slow and painful movements that Mahalis finally managed to open his eyes.

Every action was an effort and followed swiftly by an acute and terrible pain. Thankfully, the pain did not last for long and, after a few minutes of gently moving in place to evaluate the state of his body, He was finally able to see once more.

He was in a large room, the soft carpet and lit fireplace made the place seem rather homey. Reminding him of his quarters in Callai. He felt a stab of homesickness in his heart but swallowed the discomfort and examined the rest of the room.

His bed was soft and large, plain white sheets covered his body which, he now realised, was naked. He spun in place, seeing a small table next to his bed which had a piece of parchment and what appeared to be a used mortar and pestle. The large door was closed and, he would assume, locked. If what he could remember of being awake before was true, then they would no doubt take every precaution in making sure that he didn't leave the room prematurely.

It was as he looked to the other side of the room that he stopped cold, an instant sweat developing on the back of his neck.

Kara was in his bedroom.

She was curled up on the large chair that stood next to the bed, asleep and looking at peace. Furela leaned against her makeshift bed, the sword paying no attention to the young prince. Not like it had done to Corus.

Corus.

And like that, Mahalis remembered how he had ended up in this room. He remembered Cinder calling his mother a bitch, he remembered Corus walking into the room. And he remembered speaking, although he couldn't quite recall what he said. He knew he was angry, so angry that even Cinder's glowing eyes didn't affect him.

He said something, something that caused Corus to become mad and... well, Mahalis had ended up in this bed.

The young prince sighed, then hissed as releasing the sound caused him another bout of pain. This, unfortunately, woke a still sleeping Kara from her slumber.

She looked around for a second, her hand unconsciously going to Furela's hilt before her tired eyes fell open Mahalis. Her eyes widened with surprise before being replaced by joy and she leapt from her place in the chair, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck and burying her head into his shoulder. Mahalis enjoyed the unexpected welcome so much, he decided to tolerate the pain.

“Gods, you're ok. We thought that you would never wake up.” Her voice sounded like it was cracking, but Mahalis wasn't sure if that was the truth or his imagination running wild.

The Elven Prince patted her back awkwardly “It's ok, Kara, I'm fine, nothing wrong with me, I'm fighting fit.” each word caused Mahalis pain, but he pushed hard against it, forcing it to the back of his mind. He really didn't want to ruin this moment.

Kara pulled back, releasing her hold on him which almost caused him to release a sigh of relief but she didn't leave her place on the bed, her face directly in front of his, her eyes looking deeply into his own.

“Are you sure you're ok? It's been three days since the Throne Room. You woke up once yesterday but you kept thrashing about and punching everyone.”

“I know... I remember.” Mahalis said, his eyes falling from Kara's. “I thought you were trying to hurt me. If I caused you pain, I'm sorry.”

Kara suddenly released a laugh and got off the bed, taking her place on her chair, pulling Furela up and onto her lap. “Worried about you hurting me? No. I've never been worried about that. Me hurting you on the other hand? Well, that's a different story.”

Mahalis chuckled at that, then winced and pressed a hand to his side as a jagged pain lanced through his ribs.

Kara's soft smile immediately disappeared as she leaned forwards, her expression one of concern.

“Should I go and get the healer? He should be around here somewhere, it's pretty late, but I'm sure I could find him.”

Mahalis raised a hand “No, please... just stay. I don't really want to be alone right now.”

The First Daughter of Keltano hesitated for a second, before she nodded and leaned back in her chair. A smile reappearing on her face. Honestly, Mahalis had never seen her smile so much.

“So... how is everyone else? Are they ok?”

Kara sighed “Yes, everyone is fine. After The King did that to you, he just walked out. We took you to the healer but he said that he had never seen damage like what you had experienced. It was like your aura was ripped to shreds. He said that it shouldn't have been possible to do something like that. He could heal the physical damage, the broken bones and internal bleeding. The aura... he said all he could do was wait. See what happened.”

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Mahalis, upon hearing her words, furrowed his eyebrows and gently reached out to his aura. It was a surreal experience. His father had taught him that aura couldn't be damaged, that it was an intrinsic part of you until death. But with his examinations he now found that was not the case.

His aura looked almost black, like it was bruised. It used to be quite large but now it was a shadow of it's former self, the pulse of energy so small as to be insignificant. He reached for mana but immediately gave a cry of agony as his head felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand daggers, he clamped his hands to the sides of his head and fought back the tears that had begun to appear around the corners of his eyes.

Kara was there instantly, her own hands pressing against his as he continued to cry out, the pain fading slowly, but that wasn't the most painful part of this. His aura was damaged, and his ability to draw upon mana. He was without magic.

“What did he do to me?!” Mahalis cried, his body shaking.

Kara squeezed his hands gently “I don't know. Lor and Dran went to go and find him, to try and bring him back to fix this. But he said that he wouldn't help. That you needed to learn some respect. But he did say your aura would heal with time.”

That small nugget of hope helped to stem the tide of depression that threatened to engulf the young prince. But it was quickly replaced by anger at the injustice of being put in this bed.

“So everyone is convinced that the man in the mask is The Rebel King, huh?” He couldn't help but sound slightly bitter as the words left his mouth.

Kara's lips became a taut line as she glowered at him “Perhaps you don't see it, Mahalis. But it's true. The King has returned and we are his Knight Descendants. Which means that we serve him until our deaths. It's our purpose.”

“But how do you know? How can you possibly be sure that it's really him? You heard him, Kara, he wants to hurt my parents! Why would the King of the Rebel Court want to hurt them? They were both members of his order!”

Kara gave a heavy sigh and returned to her seat, glaring at the prince.

“Did you not stop to think that we don't know the whole story about The Rebel Court, Mahalis? Did you ever once stop and wonder how the King died, for instance? He's back, four hundred years later and him and Cinder seem very annoyed with Knight Marwen and King Valant. Could there be something in that? Something that we're not seeing because we don't know the whole story?”

“Wow, you've really thought about this haven't you? What are you suggesting Kara? That my parents had something to do with the death of the Rebel King? Don't be absurd, my mother and father were his strongest supporters!”

Kara shook her head “That's what you believe. But I know that Heilvol didn't think so, neither did Drogna, Faral, Abhor and especially not Cinder. Valant was the Court's enemy and then, suddenly, he decides to stop being a champion and come to Ellai to rescue the order? Then he and Marwen were the last people to see The King alive? Do you not think it sounds a bit too convenient?”

Mahalis snorted, showing very clearly his disdain “I don't believe for one second that's the case. If you had heard what I've heard, Kara, you wouldn't believe that my parents had anything to do with this. My mother loved the man, she tells me stories about him all the time and my father as well! I bet that he told you all this, didn't he? Told you that my parents caused his death?

Kara looked at him with wide eyes “Do you know how crazy you sound? Of course he didn't. Do you know why? Because I've been in this room, waiting for you to wake up! I just put two and two together, Mahalis. I believe now that Marwen and Valant had a lot more to do with Corus' death than they were letting on and I believe that the man who is here, in this very castle, is the same King who died centuries ago.”

For a moment there was silence between the two friends, the air itself charged with tension as each attempted to calm down. Part of Mahalis knew that there was something to what Kara was saying, but the greater part of him refused to believe it. His parents were always good to him and if she could see the look on his mother's face when she talked about Corus, she wouldn't believe that there was any chance that she anything to do with his death.

As much as Mahalis hated to admit it, he was sure his mother still had feelings for The Rebel King. Her eyes always seemed to brighten when she talked about him and talking of his death would leave her in a dark depression for days at a time. Valant had often told Mahalis that Corus was angry and upset that Marwen had chosen him instead of her King, but that he was a good man regardless of his feelings.

“I won't let Corus hurt my parents, Kara. I will stop him, I swear this to you now.” Mahalis said quietly, his voice barely a whisper as he looked down at his clenched hands, resting on the white sheets of his bed.

Kara snorted in disdain “There is no need to pretend to be a hero for my benefit, Mahalis. You couldn't stop Corus even if you were ten times as powerful as you are now. No, let's make that twenty. Whatever happens will happen, with or without your say so. But it is good that you're finally beginning to accept that he is your King. A step in the right direction.

Mahalis looked up at Kara with blazing eyes “He may be what he says he is. He may be The Rebel King, but he is not my king. I will not follow a man who wishes to cause pain to those I love.”

It was at this point that the lock on the door clicked and opened, causing both of the Descendants to look up from their spots to see the familiar figures of Lor and Dran, the latter carrying a large flagon of ale in his large hand.

Lor stopped as soon as he entered the room, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked from Kara to Mahalis and then back again.

“Dran my dwarven friend, it appears we have walked into an argument blooming between our two love birds. Perhaps we should take our leave?”

Dran grumbled “Maybe you're right, Lor. But I've this drink that needs drunk, how about we sit in the corner and watch?”

Lor nodded enthusiastically “Excellent idea, old boy. To the corner!”

Kara and Mahalis blushed a deep red before they looked at each other. Unable to contain themselves they each released a laugh at their idiotic friends. The issues of the day were not concluded, not by a long shot. But both friends had enough of arguing. Mahalis had just woken up after barely surviving a near death experience, perhaps it was time for a little down time before they began to debate anew.

“Ah, it seems that the argument is over... well, shit. I suppose that now they will want to share in our valuable and precious drink... couple of bastards.” Lor said, shaking his head bitterly.

“You are absolutely right we do.” Kara said, jumping up and yanking the drink from Dran's hand, lifting it to her lips and taking a healthy gulp before she passed the ale hesitantly to Mahalis, who accepted it with the same level of apprehension.

“So, how you feeling, Mahalis? In any pain?” Dran asked as he replaced Kara in the seat next to the bed.

“I've been better, Dran. But it's not so bad. It just hurts when I talk, when I move or when I laugh. So nothing really to worry about.”

Dran looked at his friend with a sagely expression “Drink more, noble prince. Soon you'll be up and dancing the night away, that shits no joke. It's dwarven brew we found in the cellar. No idea where Queen Cinder got a hold of it, but I think it would do more good in your belly.”

Mahalis lifted the flagon in toast and took yet another swig, only to have it snatched away by the cocky half elf.

“Here's to you, Mahalis. You're one crazy mother fucker, standing up to Cinder and Corus like that. But I respect it none the less.” Lor said with a lop sided grin and downed a portion of the ale, throwing the substance to Dran.

“Aye, was pretty insane, that. But maybe you don't do it again? I mean, it wasn't pretty even watching that beating you got, I can't imagine what it felt like.”

Mahalis grunted and yanked the ale from Dran, noticing the very pointed look that Kara was giving him.

“So, any news? What's happening in the castle?” Mahalis asked, desperate to move the subject away from the humiliating defeat he had suffered at the hands of The Rebel King.

Dran shrugged “Well, Cinder has been in meetings a lot so we've been talking with Palite and Bell for the most part. We met the rest of Bell's crew, the one's we fought in Ellai. Beautiful lassies. And strong. Lor tried it on with the wolf kind but had to stop when she almost knocked him out.”

Lor spluttered in protest “Now that's not fair! I was only speaking with her for a few minutes and-”

“And she already decided that you're a piece of shit? Wow, that's fast work even for you, Lor.” Kara said sarcastically, drawing a laugh from Dran while Lor muttered and sank back against a wall.

“Oh, did you know Corus has begun to train them? Can you imagine?! Those girls are learning what our parents learned! I hope he lets me join them.” Lor said excitedly, his eyes filled with the promise of power.

Mahalis grunted again “I don't see why we would need training from him. Our parents are more than enough. In fact, I reckon that my mother could beat Corus any day of the week.”

Lor looked at Mahalis for a brief moment, his eyelids blinking rapidly, before he released a laugh that filled the room and went on for some time. His eyes streamed with tears as Dran joined him, unable to stop himself from the infectious nature of the act.

When the prince of the sea finally managed to get a hold of himself he smiled at Mahalis, his face a blazing red.

“That was a good one, Mahalis. But seriously, I've seen your mothers aura, I've seen your fathers. I've seen my own mothers many times and you know what? There is nothing that could outdo that ridiculous shit that we saw in that throne room and in Ellai. Our parents are good, but Corus is the best. And we're his Descendants! We'll serve under him and he'll teach us to be his new generation of Knight's. It's going to be fucking amazing!”

Mahalis looked at the flagon in his hand, his fingers tightly wrapped around it “Yeah... amazing.”

“Oh, shit! We forgot to tell you!” Lor suddenly said, snapping his fingers.

“What?” Mahalis said, looking up from his place, suddenly his heart was filled with trepidation.

“Your mother and father are coming! Cinder received word from a source in Callai last night. Their on their way, bringing the whole royal guard with them. Apparently it's something to do with Abhor. And my mother's on the way too! Although she'll arrive a bit later. This time of year, the seas are unpredictable. Isn't it amazing! All the Knight's, bar Abhor, are going to be here, plus The Rebel King. Honestly, you couldn't make this shit up, who knew we would be in this situation when we first set out for Ellai?”

For a moment Mahalis was silent as his heartbeat increased and a cold sweat developing on his body.

His mother and father were coming to The Red Citadel? With five hundred of the royal guard? That's every warrior in the palace.

“You said Cinder received this information from a source? Are you saying that Knight Marwen did not send word?” Kara asked, her facial expression returning to it's standard frosty self.

Lor looked confused “No, she didn't. Well, Knight Cinder said that someone from Callai had told her but that it wasn't from the palace. Why? Is that important?”

Kara said nothing but her face paled, she turned and looked at Mahalis, who stared back at her with the same expression, his eyes frightened.

“How long will it take them to get here, Lor?” Mahalis whispered, his eyes never leaving Kara's own.

“I have no idea. Dran?”

The dwarf was watching the exchange curiously “They've already been on the road for four days. About two more, if they don't have problems along the route. Their using magic so it'll probably be then, might be sooner.”

“I need you to take me to Corus, now.” Mahalis said, his eyes pleading with Kara's.

She looked like she was hesitating.

“Please, Kara. My mother must know that Corus is here, she knows and she sent no word. Do you know what that means? Five hundred of her elite guard are more than enough to breach The Red Citadel before reinforcements arrive, especially if it will only take two days to get here. Please. I have to speak with him, convince him to let me talk to her and my father before this gets out of hand.”

Kara looked at him for second, her eyes filled with indecision.

“So, you believe me now? I told you that your parents had more to do with this than you thought. This just proves it.” She didn't say it harshly, but gently, as if trying to ease him into it.

Mahalis took a deep breath “I still don't believe your theory. But there is no reason for my mother not to send word if this was a peaceful visit. If she somehow knows Corus is back and had something to do with his death, like you say, then this could end badly for everyone. Or this is all a huge misunderstanding, like I said, and nothing bad will happen when they arrive. But to be safe, I need to be the first person to speak to them. Please, Kara. I need your help."

Kara nodded and gave him a gentle smile “Ok, let's go see The King.”