Valor’s clouded-sky eyes rolled back into his head as his body was consumed by painful jerks and spasms.

Elwin stood up as quickly as he could, although his movements felt like he was mired in thick mud. And, despite his best intentions, others were closer already.

Before the captain could react, the unfortunate boy’s sister had sprung into action. She took off her robe (revealing a filmy white gown beneath) and folded the belt before shoving it in Valor’s mouth. She rolled him onto his side and put the rest of the robe under his head as a pillow.

“Will the rest of you back up and give them space!?” Dru yelled, as though she were the bodyguard of the queen, and the commoners were getting way too close.

Elwin would have loved to comply if there were anywhere to go in the small kitchen.

He looked behind him at Prin who was still seated. The faux tears that had threatened earlier had become real and were trailing down his cheeks. Elwin grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

The two strangers stood by the backdoor but didn’t seem in a hurry to exit.

“I had a little cousin who had fits like that.” Hobbs said. “They put something in their mouth so they don’t bite their own tongue off.”

Crow nodded in agreement. “She died, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, but you didn’t have to say it.” Hobbs said sheepishly.

“Get out of my house!” Captain Thompson roared.

Hobbs and Crow finally moved toward the door. Hobbs was already outside and Crow had his hand on the door, when he turned back. “We will be back.” He said. “Don’t think this little stunt changes anything.”

Elwin cringed, preparing to duck out of the way of the captain when he flew towards the men to beat the life out of them.

Surprisingly, he stayed where he was, more concerned with Valor then the nonsense words of an idiot.

Good.

Crow left, pulling the door shut behind him.

Prin pulled on Elwin’s hand. “It’s not really a stunt, is it.” He looked like he vastly would prefer Elwin to tell him it was. That it was just a dramatic trick to make the nosey men leave.

Elwin saw the wet spot that spread across the front of Valor’s pants, and doubted even he would have commitment to the bit enough to fake that. But, he didn’t want to point it out to preserve his dignity.

“Papa, he can’t really die from a seizure, right?” Wrena asked her father. Her voice carrying more emotion for the well being of her sibling then Elwin would have ever imagined she was capable of.

In fact, her entire reaction to this whole thing shocked him, come to think of it.

“No, pet, of course not.” Captain Thompson lied.

Dru knelt down beside her cousins, and was holding Valor’s hand as the flopping and shaking stopped and he went limp.

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Wrena eased the belt out of his mouth and smoothed back his pale hair from his even paler forehead. “All better now, shhh shhh.” She murmured.

Valor’s eyes fluttered shut and, except for shallow breathing he was completely still.

“Let’s get him to bed.” The captain reached down and awkwardly picked Valor up. “Oof, he’s grown since the last time I had to carry him.”

“Let me do it.” Elwin volunteered.

“I could carry him, I think.” Dru said at the same time. She looked at Elwin and shrugged. “Nah, you do it. Put those pretty arm muscles to some use.”

Captain Thompson reluctantly handed him over to Elwin. “For the sake of my back.”

Elwin held him like a baby, nestling his face against his shoulder.

They all shuffled out of the kitchen, Prin and Wrena each making it hard for Elwin to move because they insisted on hovering over his shoulders to look closely at Valor every second.

Out in the hallway, Mrs. Frances and her quiet helper were waiting. It was clear from the anxiety on Mrs. Frances’s face that she had heard all, and seen all probably as well. Her assistant just looked a bit lost, with wide frightened eyes. Probably worried about continuing to have a job if this crazy household fell to pieces.

Mrs. Frances motioned her assistant to go with them. “Take fresh towels, and bring out the laundry.”

The girl hesitated for a moment before nodding. She scurried off to grab the towels before joining the procession.

Elwin was reminded a little too much of a funeral parade as he led the way, carrying the so far unresponsive Valor. Prin and Wrena following directly behind, then the captain, Dru, and the serving girl the reluctant tail of the dragon.

Surely after everything he had been through, he wouldn’t let something like this kill him? A little thing like this . . .

Everyone seemed pretty worried.

When he stopped in front of Valor’s room to allow Prin to reach around him and open it, he couldn’t help speaking. “This has happened before . . . right? And he was okay?”

Wrena exchanged a dark look with her father. “Not for a while. We kind of hoped he had outgrown it.” Wrena said.

“This is why we don’t take him swimming anymore.” Captain Thompson said cryptically.

Elwin laid the sleeping boy down in his bed, and Prin doused a rag in water and draped it over his forehead.

When Elwin started to strip his soiled clothes, the girls and the captain excused themselves from the room, except for Mrs. Frances assistant, standing at the ready with her towels.

Wrena made Prin promise to alert her immediately if anything were to happen.

“Maybe you could bring a basin of warm water?” Prin asked the shy seeming girl. “I don’t want him to wake up dirty and be embarrassed.”

The assistant sat down her towels and left, returning quickly with a bowel of water and a bar of soap.

“I haven’t had to do much for him lately. Not that I’m complaining.” She said, as Prin and Elwin wiped Valor down and redressed him in a clean night shirt. “You two must not mind . . .”

“We don’t mind.” Elwin said.

“He’s our friend.” Prin said, his voice retaining its teary quality. He sat down beside Valor on the bed and held his hand.

The girl’s eyebrows raised. “You don’t gotta lie in front of me, I’m not his family. He’s a bad, wicked boy isn’t he. Even they know it, but I suppose their obligated . . . by blood.” She gathered up the dirty laundry as she spoke, straightening up the room a little as she went.

She almost kicked one of the black kitties, who arched its back at her and hissed.

“He is not!” Prin said passionately. “A person can do bad things sometimes without being a “bad wicked” person. I know it was wrong of him to throw things at you. It’s just . . . it’s just because he’s been so miserable, you see? I’m sorry.”

Elwin wondered why Prin was apologizing on Valor’s behalf, like he was responsible for him in some way. Seemed like it had happened more then once.

The girl shook her head solemnly. “No, it’s true, he’s wicked from the inside out, and if you stick around here you’ll see.”

“You’ve misjudged him.” Elwin said. “Not that I blame you. We’ll talk to him about his behavior.”

“It’s not that.” The girl said. “Throwing things and yelling? I’ve handled worse. That’s not what I’m talking about.” She went to the door and stopped abruptly, turning back around toward Prin and Elwin. “This boy has dark spirits around him. You’d better leave here now before something bad happens to you.”

She turned back around and spoke quickly before she left the room, as though summoning up the last ounce of her nerve. “And don’t come back. There won’t be time for another warning.”