Wanderlust (mxm)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Tanden struggled to stay out of the way while the physician worked. One of the maids, a pretty girl named Lyna, gently washed the soot from Soren's skin. Tanden wanted to help her. He wanted to kneel by the bed and hold Soren's hand.

Instead he hung back nervously, watching the soot reveal equally dark bruising underneath. Nothing else mattered. He didn't care about the banquet; he didn't care about what was going to happen next. In the back of his mind, he knew he needed to be talking to the King, pleading Soren's case. But he couldn't bring himself to leave, as if leaving Soren would make his condition worse.

Tanden watched blankly, and it took him a moment to realize the physician had gotten to his feet and was trying to talk to him. Tanden shook his head to clear his mind. "Sorry, yes?"

The physician had been halfway through his report. He paused, sighed, and restarted. "He has some broken ribs. I see it all the time with the soldiers, they usually heal up fine on their own as long as he doesn't do anything too strenuous. Couple broken fingers on his left hand, so I wrapped them together. The bruising around his neck isn't impeding his breathing. He is having trouble breathing, but I'd guess that's from the smoke and his ribs. Should clear up with some rest. I had to pull a tooth, but the swelling in his jaw should go down relatively quickly. Aside for that, his head seems unhurt. All an all, he's a lucky man. This attack could have easily killed him." The physician paused and cast a glance over at Soren. "Honestly, my lord, it almost seems like the goal was to incapacitate him, while keeping him alive."

Tanden latched onto those last words. "Are you willing to say that, if the King asks? He couldn't have started the fire in his condition."

The physician nodded. "It is certainly clear to me that he was beaten earlier this evening, before the fire started. I'll give my report, of course, but I can't garauntee the King will listen."

"Yes, I know. Thank you."

A thin smile flashed across the physician's face. "I expect he'll recover fully. It will just take some time."

"Thank you," Tanden repeated. Now that Soren was bandaged, he just wanted the physician and Lyna to leave. Acell was still in the room, but he was hardly a concern. Tanden restrained himself from ushering them out. The physician kept talking while he cleaned up, and Tanden hardly listened. Then, finally, the door shut, and they were alone.

Tanden immediately sat on the edge of the bed. He picked up Soren's right hand, and leaned over him to gently stroke his hair.

"All right, mate. Time to wake up and tell me who did this," he mumbled.

Then, almost as if the Goddess had heard him, Soren blinked. He woke suddenly and tried to sit up, catching Tanden entirely off guard. But he didn't make it far before groaning and collapsing backwards.

"Steady, Soren," Tanden said, relief flooding through him. "You're going to hurt yourself."

Soren grunted something in reply, then started coughing.

Tanden grabbed the jug of water from the bedside table and filled one of the cups. "Here," he said, pressing the cup into Soren's good hand.

It took a moment for Soren to stop coughing long enough to drink the water. When he leaned back into the pillows, his voice sounded a little better. Still rough, but understandable. "Tell me."

Tanden took the cup away and laced his fingers with Soren's. "Broken ribs, broken fingers, smoke in your lungs, lost a tooth. Cuts and bruising. All in all, it could be worse."