Deserter

FOUR

{Chapter Triggers: mention of assassination attempts, mention of execution, confrontation, minor mention of injuries. Those are all I can think of/figure out from reading through the chapter, I apologize if I missed any and feel free to inform me.}

"Roman, we need to find out if he is telling the truth or not." Logan motioned for the knight to follow him out of the room. 

"He is not, I am sure of that. He was probably sent here to be a distraction to us while his men do their dirty work. We should go check on King Thomas-"

Logan shook his head. "I told his private guard to be on high alert for the next day or so. They'll stop any attempts."

"There are no attempts." Anxiety rolled his eyes, adjusting his sitting position. The two ignored him.

"We could consider that he's telling the truth." Patton said quietly.

"Anxiety would have no reason to leave Deceit's side, the man raised him. He has been one of the most constant attackers, he knows all of Deceit's plans, and he is known as a loyal attack dog."

"I would hardly say he raised me, I was a teenager when I met him." Anxiety put in. His comments were largely unanswered.

"We should take this to King Thomas regardless, and see what he says we should do. This man is after his head, after all, and he is the king." Logan shook his head.

Roman grunted and glared at Anxiety. "If he has any sense, which he usually does in cases like these, he will allow me to execute the man for attempted assassination."

Patton played with his shirt-hem nervously. The other two advisers began to walk towards the door and part of him hoped that they were going to forget him there, which was what he wanted. 

"Patton, come on, he'll want to hear your thoughts on it as well." Roman glanced over his shoulder.

Patton looked at Anxiety, but the man was once again looking out the cell's window, ignoring everyone. He sighed and quietly followed the other two out of the room.

"We should just kill him." Roman insisted once the door was closed. "King Thomas need not know he was even here."

"No." Logan said firmly. "On the tiny chance that King Thomas wants to hear what he has to say, we will keep him alive for now."

"King Thomas is a trusting man, but even he knows the danger that the Tricksters present to him." Roman insisted.

"He's also someone who gives everyone a chance." Patton said quietly. Roman just grunted and looked at Logan again.

"We ask the king. What he says decides what we do with the man." Logan turned to the soldiers guarding the door. "No one goes in, and obviously he does not come out. Check on him regularly to make sure he has not tried anything, and feel free to use force if he has."

Patton chewed his lip. That was unnecessary, in his opinion. But he was against them enough, and he didn't want the argument to worsen. Maybe he could make his case to King Thomas.

The two soldiers clapped their fists to their chests in the formal salute, and Logan nodded, brushing past Roman and Patton to lead them down the hallway.

~~~That Evening~~~

Patton shifted his grip on his medical kit as he climbed the stairs to the tower. He took a deep breath, holding his head high and trying to keep his expression confident.

He was so nervous. King Thomas had agreed with Logan and Roman that Anxiety was probably up to no good, but had decided to keep him in the cell until they could look into what he had said. It was sort of a middle ground between Patton's argument and the others' reasoning, which was often what he did when they were in disagreement.

Maybe not the best policy for a king, but it had worked out for Eaden so far.

"Sir Patton." The first soldier looked surprised. "What can we do for you?"

"I need to speak to Anxiety." Patton held his medical kit carefully, trying to keep it mostly hidden.

"Sir Logan has said no one is allowed in."

"Sir Logan will make an exception." He was glad that he at least sounded more confident than he felt. 

"Will all due respect, Sir Patton, he specifically told us to inform him if you came up here, so I do not know if I can let you in."

Patton tilted his head up a little, jutting his chin out. "So inform him. Go find him, let him know I went to speak with Anxiety. But I am going to speak with Anxiety, and I outrank you, so move." He barely stopped himself from adding a please.

The two soldiers looked at each other, then one reluctantly moved past him and started down the hallway. The other one frowned, but opened the door. Patton walked inside.

Anxiety was sprawled out on the cot, eyes closed, but as Patton walked in his eye opened halfway. He sighed.

"So they haven't decided to kill me yet?"

Patton frowned. "No... I argued against it."

"Well at least someone believes me... why are you up here?"

"I'm a healer." Patton shrugged. "I saw how you were moving before and you looked like you were in pain."

He picked up the little key-ring for the cell door. "There is still a guard out there, so please don't try anything."

"That would require effort, which is something I am not interested in right now." Anxiety grunted.

Patton smiled a little, unlocking the cell door and then slipping the keys into the pocket of one of his trousers. He stepped inside and pulled it back into place. "Have you checked yourself for any injuries?"

"No. I really just laid here and tried to sleep. I'm exhausted."

"You nearly drowned, I would expect you to be tired." Patton set the medical kit down. "Could you take your shirt off?"

Anxiety sat up slowly, tugging his over-shirt off. From the way he was moving, Patton would bet a lot of money on at least a cracked rib.

"What happened to you?"

"My horse threw me." Anxiety admitted quietly, sitting still as the healer began to inspect his sides. There was some bruising. "I was riding through the woods and there was something in the bushes."

"You're pretty banged up... but I can only do so much about it. I can wrap your chest, because that will hold your rib in place, and if you'd like I can bandage the cuts, but that is pretty much the extent of it... What would you like?"

Anxiety paused, then shook his head. "Just bind the rib. Your colleagues will throw a holy fit if you bandage me up completely, and the cuts won't cause any problems anyway."

Patton nodded and got to work, wanting to get it all done before Logan inevitably showed up.

{Medieval medicine was most likely not nearly as advanced, but I enjoy historical inaccuracies}