Wildfire

Twenty Eight

"Prince Emrys, that is not the same bottle I gave you earlier. The one I gave you earlier was only half full, this one is barely missing a single dose." Kanaye's words make me feel faint, my own inattention to our own surroundings and second failure to protect my new bride making the room spin as Rayne continues to wretch while I hold his hair out of his face, the administration of the syrup that is responsible for his current vomiting overseen by Kanaye, whose own eye now looks very similar to the one my fiancee is sporting, my fist having moved faster than my mouth when I had jumped to the conclusion that he had been the one responsible for hurting my beautiful little storm cloud, "Did you leave your chambers unprotected when you left to bathe?"

Of course, I had... I had much preferred to have Bohdi and Indra with the two of us so that they might serve as further protection for my poor Rayne...

I had never imagined someone would think to poison what should have been medicine... I hadn't even given any thought to giving him a dose from the very bottle Kanaye is currently uncapping to give a sniff, his nose wrinkling in disgust at the smell of it before he pushes the stopper back into place and sets it aside, "If I am right, he should be fine. We induced vomiting soon enough... It is just a matter of whether his body can withstand what he's already absorbed while still healing from last night."

The words do little to soothe me as Rayne's heaves pause just long enough for him to groan into the once clean chamber pot, the break in his discomfort much needed so that he might take a few moments to breathe properly, the color slowly starting to return to his face. 

...

Rayne

...

I had tried to send my Prince away once I had swallowed the sickly sweet syrup that has so successfully made me expel the poison I had taken thinking it was the sedative meant to help me rest... Only the rest offered by the bottle that had been swapped with the real medicine had had a very different type of rest in mind... A much more permanent one. 

Emrys would not hear of it though, and even now I feel his palm pressing into my back radiating a potently soothing heat as he gently drags it up and down my spine in an effort to comfort me while his other hand controls my hair for me so that I do not end up getting it dirty after just having washed it. 

All I hear from him is sweet apologies and what almost sounds to be tears as he croons to me, temporary lapses in the quiet whispers only happening when Kanaye speaks up, different words of encouragement leaving the physician's mouth as he regularly checks my vitals to monitor me as I start to feel the life return to the fingers and toes that had started going numb, a cool cloth being pressed to my damp forehead to dry it off for me by my future husband. 

I could have never imagined that he would ever be so sweet and kind... When my heaving finally stops and shows no signs of returning I find myself immediately gathered up into his arms and held against his chest so that he might soothe my sore body with his heat and affection, "I am so sorry, My Love..."

...

Emrys

...

" 't's n-not y-your fault...I-It didn't taste any different t-than last night..." The way Rayne curls into me for comfort shatters my heart into pieces, my only response to give him the comfort he so desperately needs in this moment. 

"When done right, poison can be nearly impossible to detect... And as far as being able to tell how much was actually in it, the bottle is dark... I should have thought to hand it to you so that you might feel its correct weight... I had never dreamt that someone might think to poison medicine." Kanaye says the words with the same astonishment that we all feel in this moment, Indra and Bohdi both taking turns to pop their heads in and check on their new Queen, their concern touching, "How are you feeling, Your Highness?"

Rayne has to gather his thoughts before he's able to answer, but when he does I think I may finally be able to start breathing normally again, "B-Better... I feel better..."

All I want is for him to be happy and healthy and so far he's been accosted twice and I have failed so miserably to provide him the most basic of protections in his new home. 

"Good. The two of you should return to bed and try to rest as best you can while I work on a new untainted batch of the sedative... Emrys, you should be more than capable of monitoring him from here... I'll inform the head of the guards what has happened so that he might assign a rotation to keep eyes on your chambers permanently so that way Bodhi and Indra might move about the palace with you as they usually would as your personal protection... We should probably also see about getting Rayne an independent guard separate from them as an added precaution." Kanaye's eyes do their best to be calming as he delivers the rest of his instructions on how to watch over Rayne, as though I won't already be on high alert with how much more determined I am now to keep him safe... 

My beast is not happy at the sign of our treasure so distressed and uncomfortable... He deserves the world and all I have given him this far is pain, nervousness, and sorrow and for that, I am so deeply repentant...

Today should be a happy day... Full of the same rejoicing that had taken place when my little bride had woken up to find himself still in my arms... Rayne is all I've ever wanted and somehow I feel as though the entire world is set on taking him away from me before we've even had the chance to really get to know each other...