An Early Return

I lay awake that night, thinking of all the magic and healing I had learned. I rolled to my side and looked out the window. The stars twinkled in their navy blue blanket, and I wondered if my real home was up there. My heart hurt as I thought of the possibility of there not even being a home left to return to. This weighed on me so heavily, yet I am so grateful to have Edgar and Merlin. Surely it weighs on them more than I, since this is the only planet I have known. Looking at the stars, I felt I could hear them all whispering wishes into the night, and I whispered my own, "Please, let my home be saved... let me meet my parents and see them safe from this terror."

Letting out a sigh, I looked out into the streets before the castle and saw three figures riding up on horses. I sat up quickly and pushed my face to the window to get a better look. Aurelius was back early, and the two knights from before were following him. They took their horses to the stable's next to the castle and were then making their way inside. I slid out of my bed and opened the door gently. The door let out a soft creek, but neither Merlin nor Edgar stirred. I grabbed a purple colored cape to cover my night dress and tiptoed past Merlin's cot and made sure not to get too close to Edgar's large ears as he snoozed on a small bed made of hay in front of the unlit fireplace.

I opened the door and shut it as quietly as I could, and then made my way down the steps of the corridor to the entrance. I stood against the wall, a few steps up from the bottom where the door lied. Aurelius came in with the two knights, a smell of sweat wafted instantly into the large room of the castle. The two knights went up the left corridor, opposite of the one I resided in, and Aurelius made his way forward between the corridors, where he would find his chambers I presumed.

Aurelius stopped, not far from where he started, and leaned against the stone wall, gripping at his left shoulder.

"Aurelius?" I called, a little worried by his actions.

Aurelius stood straight up and spun around, trying to appear natural, and looked at me as I descended the rest of the steps and walked over to him.

"Are you hurt?" I asked, reaching towards his left shoulder.

"No, no." he said, taking a step back.

"You don't have to hide things from me, your majesty." I said. I noticed his chain-mail was torn at the space between his collarbone and shoulder.

"It's nothing." He said, but I knew he was lying.

"Let me help you." I said as I began to steer him towards the corridor. "Your quarters are this way, right?"

"Yes." He said, not putting up a fight. Women seemed to have great power here. Once we got to his room, where a nice big bed laid out in the middle and to the left of a fireplace, I had him sit down.

"Sit in front of the fireplace." I ordered as I grabbed some logs and nestled them into position for the fire.

Aurelius sunk down against his bed, his wounded side closest to the fire. He closed his eyes and rested his head back against his bead. "I'll be all right, really."

I glanced at him, but he did not move or flutter an eye. I stuck my hand out above the wood and closed my own eyes. I concentrated on the thought of a fire and quickly felt the tongues of flames licking at my palm. Moving my hand back, I looked to Aurelius, but his eyes were still shut. I moved closer to him and said, "I need to see your wound, that way I know how to treat it."

Aurelius sighed and shifted forward. I helped him pull off his chain-mail, and instantly saw a giant blood stain, darkening his already red tunic. Pulling off his tunic I was relieved to see that the wound was not deep, but the fact that it had not stopped bleeding was a little unnerving. He looked at me, dirt caked on his face and darkening his hair. "What's the diagnosis?"

"Let me run upstairs to my chamber, I need to get some agrimony and water to clean this up." I said, standing up, he simply leaned back and closed his eyes.

I run back upstairs to my corridor, being careful not to trip in the darkness of the castle. When I reached the room I tried my best to open the door quietly. At the table I found the medicine Merlin had made while teaching me how to stop bleeding, and grabbed a small bucket of water with a cloth along with dressing for his wound. I closed the door and went back down stairs and into Aurelius' room. Aurelius had not moved, blood trickled down his side. I sat in front of him and used the cloth and water to soak up some of the blood.

Aurelius gave a little startle. "That's cold, you could have warned me." He said, looking into my eyes.

I shook my head and focused on tending to his wound. "You're right, sorry your majesty."

"Please, you don't need to address me so formally."

I applied the agrimony to his wound. "Then what shall I call you? Ari?" I asked, giggling a little.

"If that is what you like." He said. His face was gentle, yet he seemed to have aged years from only a couple days of battle. "My mother sometimes called me that." He said softly, smiling to himself. Yet, as quickly as it came, his smile all but vanished, and a serious tone took its place. "Have you heard of how Uther and I got here?"