The King

Chapter 2: Recovery

When I woke up, I was in my room, at home. A doctor must have been called; the whole of my abdomen was wrapped in gauze. Trying to stretch was impossible, the movement pulls at my side, making me wink, sucking in a breath. 

“Caroline, your awake”, Prince Luke wakes up, walking over to me. 

His question wakes the other body I hadn’t noticed in the room, Prince Luke’s younger brother, Prince Victor, “Your wake, how do you feel?” He is at me side, holding my hand before his brother even reaches my bed. 

Prince Victor is two years older than me but one year younger than his brother, making him eighteen. Seeing him in my room confuses me a little. Then I remember: invaders, blood, pain.

I shoot up, yelping in pain, as the movement disturbs my side. Both boys take my arms, holding me to the bed, “Stay down,” Prince Luke says to me, “no one was hurt and the palace is secure now.”

“Besides,” continues Prince Victor, “what can you do?” The look of absolute death now gone from his face. 

Still I try to get up, “I need to report to Captain Bianca, he needs to know what happened.”

Prince Victor exhales loudly, “This girl is stubborn” he mutters, “Listen, we knew you would say that, so Luke already made a report and I made one too, from the point of when we found you. All you have to do is get better… It’s good to see you again, though it would have been better if you had been more careful”. With that he made for the door.

After a small pause, I look over at Luke, “What’s with him, when did he get back?” 

“Just before the attack,” he glances at the door, “mom told me he came running when he heard that we aren’t found yet. He almost lost it when he saw you on the floor, bloody. That last part I saw, not heard.” Another pause, “Just saying…”

I cough, uncomfortable, “Mmmm, what time is it?”

“10:00 p.m.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, the attack happened around 10:30 p.m. Wait, how long have I been out?”

“Three days. You gave us a scare; you saw Victor’s face. We thought you weren’t going to wake up, he says with new fear on his face, the grip on my hand tightening.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apparently, the cut was much deeper than I thought. “Bed rest, Caroline Ballesta, if I hear that you got up, even to use the restroom, without assistance, I will personally chain you to the bedpost.” That is what the doctor ordered, who also happens to be my brother.

“Yes, sir. Help to use the bathroom. Anything else?” I say while batting my eyelashes at him.

But of course, he knew better than to believe that, so for 4 weeks I was never alone in my room. Luke and Prince Victor took turns watching over me.

 They are so different from each other. If I didn’t know them from childhood, I wouldn’t believe they are siblings. With Luke around, because I am off duty, I can laugh and poke fun at him. We watched T.V. and read books. Sometimes he would take me to the living room for a change of space. Always laughing.

With Prince Victor, it is different. With him it is calmer. At the slightest sign of my discomfort he is there; giving me water, bringing up food, carrying me to the door of the bathroom. Not holding my arm or hands on my shoulders but carrying me to the bathroom. He is always aware of even the slightest change. 

When I wake up, he is there. One night, he must have been tired because he didn’t realize I was awake, I found him just watching me sleep. The room was dark but it was like he was just reassuring himself that I was there. The look in his eyes was tortured, then the strangest thing happened, he went to brush my hair. The slightest touch, but one of the warmest I have ever felt. How I managed to stay still was beyond me, though I really don’t think I fooled him. Every night he spent with me after that he was always reading or looking at some spread sheet or other, or just, again, looking at me. 

Like that, those four weeks went by in a blur.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I have a new agreement, want to hear it?”is the first thing I hear when I start duty my first day back.

Sighing loudly, I say “No, I really don’t want to hear, but I think I have to hear it anyway. Am I right?”

“Every,” Luke says with a wicked smile, winking at me before continuing, “If you had been married to me when the attack had happened, we could have made it to the safe room before any really danger was near us. You getting injured could have been prevented and still can be in the future”.

He said the exact words I had been expecting from him from the moment I woke up after my injury. I look him straight in the eyes, “The answers, Crown Prince Luke Avery of the Atlantic Continents, is no. The answer was not before, it is no today, and tomorrow it will be no”. Me using his full title get the message across, he doesn’t bring up again the rest of the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Princess Stella Wang of the United Asian Countries, as planned, arrived to the city late the day after the attack but did not appear at the palace until a week after I got back. She is a very small thing, but carries herself with a presence that cannot be taught, it is only born with. 

With Queen Miriam, she walks the grounds of the palace, her lady’s maid trailing just behind and just behind her, about seven guards, all at the ready. 

What surprises me the most is the samurai sword at her side. Black hilt, gold hilt guard, if She can indeed wield it properly, would make for one interesting fight. Maybe one day she will honor me with a sparring match, yeah… that would be fun. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think that both the Princes have come to the agreement that they are going to watch over me like a lioness watches her cubs, it’s getting on my nerves.

“Will the two of you stop it, already!”, I yell one morning, scaring even Captain Blanche, who I have been trying to train with for the last hour. Both the Princes, it seems, have simultaneously come to think that watching me train is a form of entertainment most fascinating. At this particular moment, Captain Blanche has been pulling his blows at the last minute for an hour. It’s not just that they are watching, That I can handle, I do demonstrations all the time, but they interfere. 

A few days  ago I was under review to make sure that my abilities had not been compromised and Captain Blanche was having me spar against four men. A pretty normal scenario, when I went to attack one of them out, my ankle buckled and the others pinned me to the ground. Before I had a chance to get up, Luke knocked him to the ground and carried me to my room. Victor not too far behind knock the other three to the floor and ran to get the door for Luke and I. Now, no one will train with me, if this keeps up, I will become as soft as a marshmallow.

Turning to Captain Blanch I say my apology for having interrupted the training and scaring him. The sweet old mad just smiles it off. 

“You two come with me” I yell at the brothers.

“Have you two forgotten what my job here is? “I yell at them, “My job description is dangerous. Both of you need to get a grip. I get it we are friends but your life,” this I say glaring at Luke, “is way more important than mine, at this point. If you two keep getting in the way of my training, will, both regret it”. With that I turn and go back to the training room.

Luke is just finish is lessons for the day, when he stops walking, halfway to his room, “Listen, I am sorry. I realize we were getting in the way of you training. Both Victor and I know how important your job is to you”when I don’t move or respond, he turns to me, “Caroline, please. We’ll stop, just stop giving me the silent treatment, I get it from everyone else. Please, not you, too.”

That last bit breaks me, “Alright, fine, Luke”. At the sound of his name without his title, he brightens and goes to hug me, but as he does Victor rounds the corner. “Victor! Guess what!”

  His eyes travel from his brother’s arms to where they are still holding my shoulders, I shrug out of them. 

“What happened?” He says, turning back to his brother. 

“Caroline has agreed to forgive me!” Before either of us are able to move out of the way, Luke has us both in an arm lock. Like that the three of us walk off, one under each of his arms.