Rick lay on the bed and stared at the green, ugly ceiling, trying to focus on the tingling warmth from Dia’s touch. Her hands lingered on his shoulders this time around. Another healing session, and though it was certainly relieving, it also made him feel like he had less energy to use than a minute ago by the end of it.
“We’ll take a break to let your body recover before the next session,” Dia spoke with a slight smile, nodding at herself. “It would be best to avoid pushing too hard and let things recover a bit on their own now that everything is properly stable.”
“It feels like I’ve run a marathon,” Rick groaned.
“Healing can be rather exhausting for the patient, yes. Your body is burning through a lot of energy to assist in the process. We will have to update your diet accordingly.”
Dia spoke with such certainty he could only blink. “Most nurses I’ve met only ever went ‘take this’ or ‘sit there’.”
“I’m sure they had their reasons.” She threw a pout his way. “Would you rather I quietly treat you in such a way, sir? Just handling you however I wish without explaining or asking for permission?” She reached out to poke at his chest, and her lips quirked ever so slightly into a grin. “Maybe I should start with a sponge bath?”
The unexpected boldness and coy tease in her eyes brought a flush to Rick’s cheeks. “I’d… rather wash myself.”
“Shame.” Dia gave a little pout. “But if you wish to be able to wash yourself, sir, then you’ll have to focus on recovering.” With a little wink, her touch lingered on his shoulder. “Maybe I could bribe you, sir? If you do your best to help in your recovery, I know where they sell the best pastries in town.” She leaned slightly closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Your diet needs more calories, but nothing says it shouldn’t be delicious.”
“Are you offering a date?”
The words escaped him faster than he could hold them back, and as soon as he spoke them, Dia’s cheeks moved from light pink to bright red. The young woman hesitated, gulping and leaning a bit away. “M-maybe?”
There was a knocking at the door, and Dia recoiled away from Rick so fast it’d almost been as if she’d been physically yanked by a rope. Within the blink, she was three whole steps away from the bed, looking down at a clipboard she’d definitely not been holding a second prior as if it were the most important exam in history. And she reacted just in time because the door had opened and two familiar faces peeked in.
“Rick!” Kat proclaimed, barely acknowledging Dia was even there as she rushed in, arms wide and ready to throw a hug his way.
“Ma’am.” Dia’s voice was cool but soft, her hand having grasped Kat’s shoulders and stopped the young woman in her tracks. “The patient is in a rather delicate condition, please be mindful.”
“Rick was almost dead just yesterday, don’t push it,” Tomas sheepishly agreed, eyes lingering on Dia as he gave her a friendly smile. “Thanks for taking care of him.”
“It’s my job, sir, please think nothing of it.” With an air of cool detachment, Dia stepped towards the door. “I will come back in an hour with Mister Cross’ lunch. If anything happens, there is a button next to the bed to call for assistance.”
She left quietly, her steps barely making a sound once the door clicked shut.
Kat turned back to look at Rick and smirked. “You lucky dog, none of us got a dedicated nurse at our beck and call.”
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The young teacher coughed, putting his thoughts in order. “You seem perfectly able to move on your own. There’s a wheelchair next to the bed for a reason.”
The words made her grimace, and she nodded. “Yeah, that sucks. They’ve told us everyone is expected to make a full recovery at least.” A little laugh, it was so easy for her to lighten up. “You’re certainly the one that’s worse for wear.” A little roll of the eyes. “Though the others are in a bit of a mood for whatever reason, they won’t talk about it.”
Rick’s eyes lingered on his two guests, the smile souring ever so slightly. “How… did you survive? I thought you’d died in the river.” His throat tightened at the words.
Kat leaned back a little, her hand discreetly reaching out and grasping Tomas’. They shared a long quiet look. For a split second, it was almost as if Rick wasn’t even there. “He hauled my cute butt to the shore, passed out then and there. We were found by a maiden working on a farm. The farmer was kind enough to take us straight to the hospital.” She made a vague gesture over her shoulder with her head, focusing back on the chemistry teacher. “The Hunters immediately sent a representative, asked me a ton of questions. Who was with me, where, and how many? Apparently, they take rescue missions very seriously around these parts. They sent scouts within the hour it took for me to get my busted up arm patched up. Did I mention how insane this healing shit is?”
“What about you?” Tomas nudged, his free hand leaning against the foot of Rick’s bed. “We saw the whole house fall down on you. We thought you were a goner.”
“Monica got me out of the river.”
The proclamation brought an immediate smile out of Kat. “HA! I knew that girl didn’t really run off. So she’s your guardian pussycat, huh?”
“Something like that,” Rick muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose in an attempt to hold back from sighing. “Apparently there’s a Baron in this place and he has her right now.”
“Good to know she’s alive, so how do you plan to get her back?”
“I don’t…”
“You ARE going to get her back, right?”
“Don’t push him like that,” Tomas muttered. “You’re asking whether he wants to enslave Monica or not, and that’s… not a comfortable question.”
“What? Enslave?”
“Well, yeah, that’s what they do to maidens in this kingdom, apparently.” Kat shrugged, pointing at her neck. “Those choker things keep them from going insane. Protects them from an old-ass curse or some such.”
“The Major had said something about the chokers.” Rick scowled. “But what does that have to do with slavery?”
“The kingdom considers maidens property. The choker color has some symbolism, but they’re all owned. I think green chokers meant they were owned by the kingdom itself?” Kat made a dismissive wave with her hand, glancing at Tomas. “But really, you shouldn’t try to paint this like some sort of moral dilemma. ‘When in Rome’ and all that, it’s not like they’re getting whipped. Did you miss how those nurses kept checking you out?”
“I mean-” Tomas flustered. “It’s slavery. This isn’t something that should be taken lightly.”
“And who would you rather ‘own’ Monica? Rick, or some random noble we don’t know anything about?” Her brows creased. “Like, they’re definitely not going to let her go back to the wilds and start killing people again.”
The weight of the words fell down onto Rick’s shoulders like a sack of bricks. The teacher could only grimace. The image of her attacking the ones that had come to help them clear in his mind. “Do you really think I should be the one to weigh in on this, Kat?” His eyes turned to meet her own, weary. “She’s dangerous, maybe not to me, maybe…” His hand lingered on his chest, a phantom pain, the sound of breaking bones. “…but definitely to others.”
“Wait, what? What’s this shit about? Of course Monica’s dangerous, it’s like half of what makes her cute.”
Rick’s gaze lowered to his hands, clenching them tightly. “Back when they came to rescue us, Monica started fighting them. I couldn’t stop her, at all.” There was a sour taste in his mouth. “It’s the reason why I almost died in the first place. She was about to kill one of them. I stepped in the way.”
“Oh fuck.”
“’Oh fuck’, indeed.” The teacher nodded slowly. To say his mind was starting to be overcome by turmoil would be an understatement. “I don’t think I’m qualified to be in charge of Monica. Let alone ‘own’ her.”
The hesitation was short lived. Kat yanked her hand from Tomas’ grasp, crossing her arms and glaring at Rick. “Who do you think she’d rather be with? Some pompous stranger? Or you?”
There was little doubt about what the answer to that question was. All three of them knew it well. And yet another question nagged him, an apprehension that hadn’t been there before, but that grew the more he thought about it. The certainty from earlier wavered.
His jaw tightened. “And is that what would be best for her?”