Queen of Embers

XXV. Recovering

Zhou was simultaneously the worst and best thing that had ever happened to the healers, from what Sorne could tell. His arm had required several surgeries, including one that had almost gone so very nearly awry that they'd been forced to gag him, though that was less to stop him from screaming and more to stop him from cracking jokes. Zhou was tougher than he looked, and relentlessly charming.

Sorne had seen more laughter and blushing girls in the ten foot square around his cot than at any other place in the entire encampment. She smiled as she took a seat on the empty cot opposite him. "I hear our finest bonesetter nearly cut her own thumb off when she was working on your arm, smiling the whole time. How are you feeling?"

"That is because Aurelie is so wonderfully sincere in her appreciation of my poor jokes, her support of her patients nearly rivaling her unparalleled skill at her craft," Zhou said airily, prompting the woman in question to blush as she packed up her tools. They'd already changed out bandages and cleaned up the blood. "I am wonderful, as I am surrounded by those who pair stunning intellect with exceptional grace."

"He's a rogue, Your Majesty," Aurelie said, looking thoroughly charmed. There were a couple of giggles of agreement from her helpers.

"He is," Sorne agreed. She flashed Aurelie a sincere smile. "Thank you for taking such good care of him. How was the damage?"

"It was bad," she admitted. "Worst I've seen in awhile. There were a couple of big breaks and we had to repair what damage we could from him being moved while it was broken."

Sorne sighed. "That was my fault," she said. "Get some rest and some food, Aurelie. I arranged some for Zhou too."

"Of course, Your Majesty," the bonesetter said with a smile. She waved goodbye to Zhou before shooing out her help as well.

Zhou chuckled. "You saved me, my friend," he said lightly. "Without your intervention, I would be a dead man. Besides, without my wound, I might not have been introduced to the peerless ladies who have been angels of charity towards me in my darkest of hours."

It was hard to entertain dark thoughts around Zhou's grin. "Well, I'm glad they have an appreciative, cooperative patient," Sorne said, smiling a little.

"Most cooperative," Zhou agreed. "Best that I benefit from their care and not get into trouble. The meekness of the mouse has saved its tail many a time, my friend."

The warrior laughed. "If you're what the Isles consider a mouse, Zhou, I don't think the world is ready for your equivalent of a dragon."

"Dragons are creatures of the east," Zhou said lightly. "The closest we come is the Eternal Serpent."

"What is that?" Sorne said.

"Ah, a mystery many philosophers in my homeland seek to answer, always in secret. What is called magic, to my people, is not a thing which you can truly chain. It is the fabric of existence. A force at once destruction and creation, a constant cycle of death and rebirth, symbolized by the serpent consuming its own tail. This was a gift we gave to the east and west alike. The Imperatrix wears it about her throat as a symbol of rebirth, a hope of sorcery, and Leyan mages ever chase its power, a hope of magic. Expressions of great optimism."

"So why are you a mouse and not a serpent?" Sorne asked thoughtfully.

"That is the name we give to philosophers, and I am surely not among them," Zhou said with a chuckle. "I have always been a mouse: small, quiet, and rather cute." He grinned at the girl who had just stepped in. "My savior! Just when I feared death of hunger most dreadfully, the noble Thema arrived!"

Sorne turned, smiling. "I hadn't realized you were here with the healers, Thema," she said. "I'd have said hello."

The serving girl set a tray down across Zhou's lap, laden with food. She seemed nervous, but Sorne wasn't sure which one of them was causing it. "I didn't expect you'd mind, Your Majesty," Thema said. "I mean, I can stitch very well and I know a bit about healing. I'm learning a lot."