Part 2 - Injured

“Elian you really believe this is necessary?” Endio asked, obviously not too fond of his son’s decision but, as he was used to by then, Elian didn’t waver one bit.

“Yes father. We know nothing of their attack strategies. We need to preform a closer evaluation in order to better prepare our defenses.”

“Agreed. But why you, and not one of our Knights? We have men of trust that are perfectly capable of fulfilling such mission.”

Elian was left without an argument but Denar, at his side, stepped forward to his rescue.

“If I may, Your Majesty?” he asked, bowing his head respectfully, and Endio signaled his permission. “It is my belief that sending your son on this mission will … how can I put it … help raise the Knights’ moral regarding the upcoming battles,” he said and Elian looked at him sideways, half afraid of what he was about to say. Just until a few moments ago Denar had been completely against his idea of accompanying Allana on her return to Everlyn.

“How so, Sir Knight?” Endio asked, frowning, not the least bit happy about his intervention, and Denar bowed again as if thanking for his question.

“The way I see it, and may His Majesty forgive my forwardness, our chances of winning this war are very slim. Of course we’re the better prepared Kingdom of the East and, until now, Mithir has never failed to win a battle. But the forces gathering at our door are too numerous for a small Kingdom like ours. Our best hope will be to seek protection behind our walls and try to stand our ground for as long as possible, while attacking at a distance. And even so we may as well pray they won’t use other methods.”

“Other methods?”

“Magic, Your Majesty.”

“Is there a chance of this happening?” Endio asked, sounding alarmed, and Elian took a deep breath very much aware of how desperate the mere thought was.

“We’ve received news of strange events surrounding the Northern Armies. Inexplicable events …” Elian added and Denar went on.

“As we all know, this will be a desperate fight. Many will fall, if not all of Mithir. And the Knights know this better than anyone. Of course they are all noble, brave men. But still, fear is like a disease and when it starts spreading is very difficult to contain it. For that reason it is my belief that it is of the most importance to keep their spirits high. And we all know how they all admire and respect your son. They are proud to follow his command and they do it not out of duty or obligation, but out of love. Let it be your son to come back and tell them what they’re to expect in the following war. Show them that there are no differences between us, and that Elian is one of us not only in times of peace, but in times of war as well.”

Endio crossed his arms, watching the Knight sideways and, for an instant, Denar thought his speech had been in vain.

“I should elect you my Counselor,” Endio said, still not happy with the situation but looking less opposed to it. “If I did, I’m sure that the agreement with Leips would have been settled and signed a long time ago.”

“Please forgive me, Your Majesty. But I’m too fond of my duties within the Order,” Denar answered, bowing once again, and Endio sighed.

“I will take it into consideration. You’ll have my answer before lunch,” the King decided and Elian smiled, bowing as well, before they both left the Royal Chamber.

Elian wrapped his arm around the Knight’s shoulders and smiled happily.

“What would I do without you?”

“Hum … It’s not like he's decided to let you go yet. So you can stop sucking up to me.”

“Oh, come on, you know the old man as well as I do.”

“Elian!” the Knight scolded him immediately but the Prince paid him no heed.

“He has to pretend that he’ll think about it. It’s important for his image of a pondered and responsible King.”

“Any way, I still …”

“Don’t agree with my decision, I know,” Elian finished what he was about to say and Denar escaped his embrace, facing him seriously.

“I’ve been telling you that this won’t end well since the beginning. And I’m rarely mistaken in things such as this!” he said, almost angrily, and turned to walk away.

“Oh, come on Denar!” Elian pleaded and the Knight stopped, sighing before turning back. He already knew what to expect. He could never resist Elian’s begging eyes, not since the first time he’d seen him, when he was merely a child. The difference was that back then Elian would beg him for stories, not for excursions to war zones. And the biggest problem was that even though his requests had changed he was still the same. The same boy filled with beautiful dreams of a world that didn’t existed. And he couldn’t help fear what would become of him when he finally found out that the world that surrounded him was far from being beautiful or fair. Because Elian was simply too good and didn’t deserve to suffer. After all he’d been the first person he’d met that had treated him as an equal …

“It’s no use looking at me like that!” he stated, wanting to sound annoyed, and Elian smiled, practically running to catch up with him.

“Please don’t be angry at me …”

“I’m never angry at you … but only because I don’t seem to be able to! Not that you don’t deserve it, from time to time!” the Knight told him, crossing his arms now angry with himself, and Elian laughed at the Knight's stubbornness.

“That’s great!”

“By the Gods! What am I going to do with you? Why won’t you ever listen to me?”

“But I do …”

“I see. You just don’t take me serious, then!”

“On the contrary. I always pay attention to the things you tell me. But there’s also this other voice, deep inside of me. I can’t really explain it well, either. It’s just that … I fell this is the path I have to follow. And yet, not knowing where it leads still makes me feel … uneasy. And that’s why I need you so much, the both of you; you and Elipson. Because you’re the ones who have always stopped me when I’m about to lose myself. You keep my world in check,” he added, smiling, and Denar sighed shaking his head.

“But why did I ever have the brilliant idea to travel towards this side of the world?”

“Because that was your path,” Elian answered happily, even though that had been a rhetorical question, and Denar gave up on his complaints.

“Well, it’s not like I need to say it. You know you can count on me, even when I think that these paths of yours are rather suicidal. And you know what else? You’re the most cocky, self-conceited kid I’ve ever met!” he said, sticking a finger on his chest, and turned to walk away. “When His Majesty reaches a decision call me. I’ll be in the kitchen.”

“As always …”

“And what was that?!”

“No, nothing. I’ll call you.”

Denar muttered something unintelligible under his breath and went on down the corridor still mumbling to himself.

Elian stood there, for a moment, smiling as he watched him walk away, until the sound of voices rose to his attention. He went in the opposite direction, walking towards the commotion, and entered the great hall that opened to the Knight’s grounds. There a young boy was kicking and punching furiously as one of the Palace Guards held him by the collar of his shirt, practically midair, trying to drag him towards the door.

“Let go of me!! I need to talk to him! It’s urgent!!” the boy was shouting, his face bright red, but the Guard kept dragging him away, apparently unfazed.

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“I’ve already told you, you can’t be here! Who let you inside the palace? You should be outside, in one of your training sessions!”

“No! You don’t understand! I need to talk to him! Let me go!!”

“What’s the matter?” Elian asked, stepping forward as he recognized the cadet’s uniform, and the shouting ceased when everyone turned back to look at him. Startled by his presence, the Guard immediately released the boy and bowed respectfully.

“Your Highness …”

Elian looked at the young intruder that, forgetting all formalities like bows and greetings, seemed to have been frozen in place, and thought he recognized him.

“You are that cadet … You were with that girl, Kahor. Weren’t you?”

“Yyyeess, My Lord …” he answered, stammering nervously, and lowered his head almost at knee height, as if he had just awaken to that awkward situation. “My my my name is is Karl …”

“That’s right. Karl. And what can I do for you, Karl? Why have you come here?” Elian asked, now curious about the boy’s presence, and Karl closed his hands into two tight fists, obviously too nervous to even speak.

“My Lord, with your permission, I’ll lead this young man back outside, to where he belongs,” the Guard offered and Karl jumped at the mention of being thrown out, urgently raising his head and stepping forward.

“No! Please! I need to speak to you!” he said in one breath, his face bright red, eyes burning with urgency, and the Guard looked at him with disapproval.

“Mind your manners when addressing His Highness!” he scolded but the boy wasn’t listening to him anymore.

“It’s urgent! Darna sent me and …”

“Darna?!” Elian stopped him, his heart skipping a beat at the mention of the girl’s name, and immediately turned towards the Guard that still seemed very displeased with Karl’s lack of manners and respect.

“It’s alright. You can go. I’ll take care of this. Thank you,” he told him, wanting to send him away as soon as possible, and for an instant the Guard seemed confused, but ended up bowing and taking his leave. Elian waited anxiously until he was out of ears' reach and then turned back to boy with a certain feeling of uneasiness. “Darna sent you? Where is she? What happened?” he asked all at once, not even allowing the boy to speak, and Karl nodded, trying to decide what to answer first.

“Yes, Your Highness! She asked me to call you! She says it’s urgent!”

“Where?” Elian asked again, growing more anxious by the minute, and Karl blinked nervously.

“She is at our Instructor’s place.”

“Elipson!” he concluded with a heavy heart and he immediately knew the reason why Allana had called him.

He practically ran out the door but then forced himself to walk, trying not to draw too much attention, even though his heart kept drumming against his chest, the fear of what might have happened leaving his throat dry.

Karl, by his side, was practically running, trying to keep up with his wide strides, unsure of what he was supposed to do. Even so he couldn’t help feeling worried every time he dared take a peek at Elian’s face. The Prince he knew and admired was always calm, always collected,always in control of everything, always cool. The person that now walked at his side looked anxious, even angry, nervously biting his lower lip as he tried as hard as he could to keep himself from dashing into a maddening run, as it was clearly his desire. The person beside him wasn’t a Royal Prince or an Heir to the Throne. He was just Human, looking as frail and hopeless as any Human could look. And yet, surprisingly enough, he realized he liked that Elian even better.

Elian urgently knocked on Elipson’s door and, as soon as it was opened, stepped inside without delay.

“Where is she?” he asked dryly, his voice tense and contained, and Allana didn’t even bother answering him, turning to guide him towards the small annexed bedroom, where a single candle burned on a nightstand. Karl stood by the entrance, once more unsure about what to do, wondering if he was even supposed to be there, and he practically forgot how to breathe the moment his eyes fell upon the pale face of the woman laying on the bed.

Elian sat on the edge of the bed and gently caressed Elipson’s face, feeling her warm damp skin against his, her dried lips whispering intelligible words. Taking a deep breath he forced himself to calm down and act rationally.

“How long as she been like this?”

“I don’t know. She was already like this when I arrived. I tried to lower her fever but it didn’t work,” Allana answered in a worried tone, trying to justify the wet towel placed on Elipson’s forehead. “I didn’t know what else to do ... !”

“It’s okay. Every thing’s going to be okay,” Elian replied trying to reassure her, or maybe trying to reassure himself, Karl didn’t quite know, and he practically jumped when Elian turned to look at him. “Karl, can you please bring me a pair of scissors and some clean bandages from that cabinet over there, by the right?” he asked and the boy nodded automatically, completely caught off guard. He’d been certain his presence had been completely forgotten amidst the urgency of the situation. “There’s a flask with a bluish liquid, please bring me that too.” he nodded again and turned to fulfill his request without delay.

“You’ll take care of her injury.” Elian went on, now talking to Allana, who looked at him wide eyed in disbelieve.

“Me?!”

“Yes. And you’ll make sure that boy doesn’t disturb me.”

“Disturb you?”

“Yes. If you’re able to do that she’ll be fine in no time at all. All I have to do is lower her fever a bit and …”

“Elian … Are you sure …?”

“Sh! Just trust me, okay?”

Karl came back bringing what he had asked and Elian gave him a smile of appreciation, putting an end to that subject.

Allana signaled Karl to come closer and asked for his help, as she went to the other side of the bed to tend to Elipson’s injury as he’d requested. She saw Elian place his hands on Elipson's forehead and close his eyes, and her heart jumped as a soft melody echoed all around her, a melody Allana knew only she could hear, its beauty bringing inexplicable tears to her eyes.

Taking a deep breath she tried to focus on the task at hand and asked Karl for the scissors he had brought, carefully cutting the bloodied bandages around her shoulder. The wound, near her chest, was dark red and still bleeding, cutting through skin and flesh but apparently missing bone. It looked clean and disinfected, but Allana still washed it generously with the blue liquid that smelled like alcohol mixed with some kind of herbs. Elipson stirred in her sleep, frowning and mumbling something unintelligibly, but Allana paid her no attention, while Karl tried as hard as he could not to look away from the bleeding wound. After cleaning it gently she turned to the boy and asked him for the clean bandages he'd brought.

“Darna …?” She looked up and followed his inquisitive gaze, as he stared at Elian. The Prince seemed to have fallen asleep, his expression soft and relaxed while his hands still rested on Elipson’s forehead. She could still hear the soft song that echoed all around them but, that aside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

She shrugged as an answer and signaled him to be quite.

“Think he’s alright …?” Karl asked, in a low worried voice, and Allana smiled, trying to reassure him.

“Yeah … Let him be. Here. Help me take this away.” She picked up the things she'd used to change Elipson’s bandages, and Karl obeyed taking the basin Allana had used before.

“You know what he’s doing?” Karl insisted but Allana simply shrugged as if she wasn’t the least bit interested on the matter.

“Maybe he’s praying for her fast recovery.”

Karl seemed to consider it for a second and strangely enough accept her explanation. And then suddenly he jumped in place, as if someone had startled him, eyes wide opened as he recalled something.

“I have to go! If I don’t go back soon everyone will be here, knocking on the door, asking what happened! What am I supposed to tell them? Do I tell them that …”

“No!” Allana interrupted him immediately. “No, please. We have to keep this a secret. Elipson wouldn’t want for everyone to know what happened. The same with His Highness, I believe.”

“Then what?”

“Hum … tell them that … she’s sick! That’s it! Tell them that she caught some bug and that she’ll be staying in bed and resting for the day.”

“Sick?! But Elipson’s never sick!”

“I don’t care! There’s a first time for everything! She’ll explain it better once she wakes up,” Karl nodded in agreement and turned to leave, but Allana held him back. “And thank you, Karl. For everything,” she told him, thinking she’d probably never see him again, and the boy blushed, averting his gaze as he nodded once more, before practically running out of the small room.

Allana sighed and went back inside, trying to be as silent as she could. The melody had stopped and she saw as Elian take a deep breath, caressing Elipson’s face, who now looked to be sleeping peacefully. Leaning over her, he gently kissed her face and held her hand amongst his trembling fingers.

“You can’t leave me …” she heard him command with a soft voice and, as if those were magic words, Elipson took a deep breath and her dark eyelashes fluttered open.

“Elian …?” Allana practically jumped from happiness at the sound of her weak voice and Elian smiled, caressing her damp hair.

“I’m here … You’ll be okay, I promise! Everything’s fine.”

“Forgive me …”

“Hush … Just get some rest, now. I’ll come back later.” he told her, kissing her once more, and her eyes closed immediately as she went back to sleep.

Elian took another deep breath and stood up but, as soon as he did, he was forced to lean heavily against the wall. Allana rushed to his side to support him, diving under his arm so he could rest it rest over her slim shoulders. He was deadly pale, she noticed as she looked up at him, as pale as he had been the day before, in the grove, when she had thought all life had abandoned him, his black eyes burning feverishly.

“I’m okay …” he assured her, smiling, but even so she didn’t let go, helping him towards the door. Once back to Elipson’s small living room she made him sit on an armchair placed by the window, and looked critically at him.

“You look terrible!”

“That bad, hey?” he retorted, laughing lightly, but Allana was in no mood for his jokes. “It’s fine. It’ll go away as soon as I get some rest.”

“And what are you waiting for? I’m telling you this right now, I won’t be carrying you anywhere if you faint! You’re too heavy!” Elian laughed again and Allana walked up to him, placing a hand over his eyes. “Just sleep, already!” she practically commanded, which amused him even more.

“Is that an order, Your Highness?” he asked softly, holding her hand, pulling it down so he could look at her, and Allana frowned.

“I’m serious, Elian! I’ll watch over Elipson!”

He gently kissed her palm, startling her, and stood up, seeming a bit steadier than before.

“I’m thankful for your concern. But I can’t stay … I have to go back to the palace. My father must be looking for me.”

“But …”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. But I’d really appreciate if you could stay and watch over her," he asked, gazing back to where Elipson now rested, and Allana nodded as she watched him walk unsteadily towards the door. She stood there, by the doorway, following his every step, fearing he might fall at any second, until he was out of her sight as he turned around a shadowy corner.

* If you want to know more about this book or simply access earlier updates, please visit the official site at http://carpersanti.net/arnae/