The Shadow Tide

CHAPTER 13 - Awaken

Arian slept for a whole day, and Brethen didn't leave his side. It was she who laid him carefully on the bed and removed his gloves. She washed Arture's blood from his hands, then removed his vest and tunic, startled by the dark stains spreading up his arms to his shoulders. It wasn't a solid stain but spread over the skin like smoke.

She also removed his shoes and helped him sit up occasionally to drink water, semi-conscious. She watched his cold skin turn feverish, then burning hot. She used cold wet cloths on his forehead, neck and chest to control his temperature.

In the early evening, the queen stopped by. She sat beside her son, holding his hand, then left. In the morning, the king os the one to pay a visit.

"We spent the night interrogating the prisoner," Gavin whispered, and from the dark circles under his eyes, he had been there throughout the process. "But he refuses to talk."

The man who was captured had a poison ring that looked exactly like the one used by the palace invader. However, Brethen confiscated it from him before he could consume the poison. Later, she handed the object over to the king.

"And Arture?" she asked.

"He's still in the infirmary, but he'll be fine. Recovering as expected."

"Thanks to Arian," Brethen added.

"Thanks to Arian," the king agreed, then left the room.

At times, the prince's sleep was restless. He frowned, shook his head, and uttered unintelligible things. That was until he said Brethen's name.

She was dozing off, leaning against the bed's headboard beside him, and for a moment, she thought she had heard things. Until she heard it again:

"Bre-then..." It was almost a whisper. "Bre-then, no..."

"Arian? I'm here."

She held his hand, but Arian didn't react.

"Breth... Breth... I need..."

"Need what?"

She knew it was a dream, that he wasn't making sense, but still, her heart skipped two beats when Arian whispered:

"...you."

-

He woke up in the early afternoon, and Brethen felt a weight lift off her shoulders when she saw those golden eyes again. The bruises on his arms had also receded below his elbows.

Brethen was sitting in the chair next to the bed, and she didn't notice that Arian was awake until he said:

"I need a bath."

She needed one too. She had washed the blood from her hands and face, and changed clothes, but hadn't dared to leave Arian's side for longer than that.

"I'll prepare it," she said and went outside to ask someone to light the boilers. After a few minutes, hot water flowed from the tap, filling the prince's bathroom with steam.

Brethen helped Arian to the bathtub and turned her back to wait for him to undress—after he insisted that he could do it himself. When he was submerged from the chest down in the soapy and herbal water, Brethen sat on a wooden stool near the tub.

"Go rest," Arian said. "You look terrible."

"Thank you," Brethen found the strength to laugh. "You look great yourself."

Arian splashed some water on her and laughed too—a sound that lifted another ten tons off Brethen's shoulders—then sank a bit deeper into the tub and closed his eyes.