“Wait, that woman was the thief?” Ben stared at Wulfram in shocked disbelief, halfway through pouring himself a glass of whiskey from the bottle one of the guards had provided. A thoughtful move that, now that Wulfram was relaxing the pain was getting harder to ignore. He had stripped off the sodden bandages already, the cool evening air like fire on his wounds.

Wulfram chuckled, taking a drink from his own glass, the liquid burning its way down his throat, settling into a warmth in his belly that helped take the edge off the pain. “Not too loud. I don’t want her in the dungeon. She’s a gutsy little mouse, and I think she’ll be useful in mapping the tunnels.”

“And if she decides to disappear into the Tangle? Or flee the city?” Ben finished pouring his drink and set the bottle aside. He settled onto the barrel they had chosen for seats, looking over Wulframs wounds in the fading light.

“Not likely to happen.” Wulfram said, and held up his wrist, the light glinting off his new bracelet. He could feel Dani through it, and wondered if she could feel him. It was faint, barely a whisper of emotion: fear, pain, and something else he was having trouble focusing on.

Well, it had been a rough day for them both.

Ben leaned forward to look at the bracelet, his eyebrows raising. “That- is that your crown?”

“One half of it. My little mouse has the other half. Even if she runs I’ll be able to follow.” Wulfram smiled at the bracelet, too tired to think of the consequences of activating it. It had never been intended to be used to keep a thief in check.

“She what? Did that hit to the head rattle your brains? How did that come about?”

“I needed her help to get out of there, I needed to know if I could trust her to lead me to safety. I think she was doing a fairly good job until the skeletons came after us.” He laughed, thinking of her stubborn refusal to relinquish the wine. Foolish little thief. But there was something endearing about her.

“Wulfram, Your highness, this-” Ben paused, looking at the healer as he came out of the stall. There was a look of concern on the healers face, and he headed straight over to pair, bowing deeply to Wulfram.

“Your highness, Lord Bennett. I see you’ve already taken off the bandages, that saves me a step. Let me see your wounds while I’m here.”

“Of course. Why are you out here? Is Dani alright?” Wulfram set aside his whiskey. He stayed sitting, it would make it easier for the healer to see his wounds, but he did raise his arm so that he could get a better look at the wound on his side.

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“She... will be fine. I want to keep her under observation for a time, the reaction to my magic was... extreme.” The healer spoke carefully, pausing to think of the best way to communicate what he needed to say. “I am not confident she has a safe place to return to, she’s severely malnourished.”

He let out a sigh of disgust as he studied the gash in his side. “Are you going to give me trouble about getting stitches as well?”

Wulfram raised an eyebrow. “No. What magic did you have to cast on her?” He prodded the feelings he could just barely sense through the bracelet. The fear had faded, as had the pain. What was left behind was- what was that feeling? She felt drunk!

“A simple calming and numbing spell. Nothing extreme I assure you. Perhaps she reacted strongly because of a hit to the head, or because she’s so malnourished, or perhaps she’s simply sensitive to magic.” The healer started to carefully stitch up the wound on Wulframs side, his movements quick and precise.

“Should she be alone right now? If her reaction was so strong, I’m wary of leaving her alone.” Wulfram frowned, the feeling growing fainter. Maybe she was falling asleep. But if she was in a bad way, he had no desire to leave her on the streets. Perhaps he could have her relocated to the healers hall, or the palace. But that last would cause questions he wasn’t ready to answer.

“I told her to stay put. She should be fine as long as she’s got someone watching over her.” The healer said confidently.

Wulfram felt a wave of unease wash over him, and he looked over to Ben. “Following directions isn’t exactly her strong point. Ben, can you go make sure she isn’t doing anything foolish?”

Ben nodded and set his own glass of whiskey aside. “Of course your highness.”

Wulfram watched Ben head off to the stall, and let out a sigh. That woman... nothing could be simple with her, could it? “Is that the reason you came out here? Is there room at the healers hall for her tonight?”

“It is your highness, but I also wished to see to your wounds. As for room at the healers hall, I will have to check with the healers there. It would be a safe place for her to rest and heal.”

“Better than the streets or the crypts, which is where she implied she sleeps many nights.” Wulfram agreed. He frowned as Ben stepped out of the stall and strode towards them. “Ben? Is she alright?”

“She’s gone.” Ben said, his voice serious. “The back door to the stall is open, and she’s gone. I looked up and down the alley but saw no sign of her.

Wulfram bit back a curse. He had a feeling she would wander off as soon as she could. But with her suffering the effects of a spell gone awry, she shouldn’t be wandering the streets alone. “Find me a mage, and alert the guards. She is not to be harmed, but I want her found.”

“Yes your highness.” Ben bowed, they would have to catch up more later. But for right now, Wulfram wanted Dani found.

“How long do you think the effects of your spell will last?” Wulfram asked, and scanned the rooftops. “And how badly is it effecting her?”

“It should last through the night, she’ll likely fall asleep soon. It’s not necessarily effecting her badly, just strongly. No worse than a few good drinks I would say.” The healer started to bandage Wulframs wounds, although he looked uncomfortable. “Quite frankly I didn’t think she’d be able to walk more than a few steps without falling over.”

“Then you either underestimated her, or someone took her.” But who would take her? There were rumors of slavers down in the Tangles and docks, but Wulfram hadn’t believed them. Now he was worried that those rumors might have been true. Who else would take a woman right from underneath the nose of the royal guard?