“Princess?”
Jerica
whirled around at Dr. Ryken’s voice as he opened the door to the infirmary.
“He—”
Ryken’s eyes flicked across her shoulder and landed on Derik. “Oh. Hello, sir.”
He dipped his head. “How are you?”
“I’m
well, thank you… how’s Kieran?” Derik answered, striding forward to stand side
by side with Jerica in front of Ryken.
“He’s
fine,” Ryken said, then glanced at Jerica. “Asking for you.”
Jerica
nodded and stepped forward, gut tight with anxiety. And yet relieved to hear
him say that Kieran was okay.
Ryken
took a step backward and pulled the door further open, making room for her to
stride inside. Kieran was still lying on the same cot she'd left him on. But
now he was propped up on pillows and looking much stronger than before. His
color was better, too. He looked at her with wide eyes as she approached.
"Hey,"
she said, voice gentle as she perched on the edge of the chair next to his
bedside. "How are you feeling?"
"Better,"
he said with a little nod. His eyes widened even more as he glanced over her
shoulder and he attempted to sit up straighter. "War Lord!"
"At
ease." Derik put his hand up to still him. "You're hurt; don't get up
on my account."
"Yes
sir." Kieran nodded tensely, still staring at him.
"What's
the damage?" Derik looked at Dr. Ryken.
"A
possible cracked rib," Ryken answered, striding forward to stand at the
foot of the bed. "Though it's possible it's just bruised. Hard to say
without risk of further injury and the treatment is the same either way, so I
don't intend to push it if it's all the same to you?"
"Of
course." Derik dipped his head. "I trust your judgment, Doctor."
"Thank
you." Dr. Ryken dipped his head as well. "I appreciate that."
Derik
nodded. "So, what are the orders this time?"
"Bed
rest for the rest of the day," Dr. Ryken answered, glancing at Kieran.
"Possibly tomorrow, too, depending on how he's doing. But he's
young--" He glanced back at Derik. "So I don't foresee that. He'll
probably bounce back quickly. But no training until he's fully recovered."
He glanced at Jerica. "And I mean anything. Sparring, archery, and even
strength training, or cardio. He gets off for the next six weeks at
minimum."
"Of
course." Jerica nodded. For all her resistance to Ryken when she was
the one who was injured, she fully intended to follow his orders to the
absolute 'T' when it came to Kieran. His recovery was far, far more important
than her own ever was. She glanced back at Kieran. "Take it easy. For as
long as you like. No exercise or even your academic lessons until you're
feeling better. Focus on feeling better."
"Yes,
ma'am." He nodded, blushing a little.
She
nodded as well, glancing over at Ryken. "Is that all?"
Ryken
nodded. "More or less. We'll ice it on and off and give him pain medicine
as needed – you know how cracked ribs go. But mostly just take it easy."
She
nodded again. "Okay... that works. Sounds good... thank you."
"My
pleasure." He dipped his head. "I'll give you some privacy, unless
you have further need for me?"
Jerica
shook her head.
Ryken
dipped his head and glanced at Kieran.
"No
sir." Kieran shook his head. "Thank you again."
"Of
course." Ryken dipped his head to him as well. "Rest up."
"Yes,
sir." Kieran nodded.
"Thank
you, Doctor," Derik said to Ryken, nodding to him.
"My
pleasure." Ryken dipped his head to Derik as well, then turned towards the
door. "I'll be in my office if you need me." With that he swept out
of the room, shutting the door behind himself.
There
was a long, tense silence. Jerica could feel her heart thudding against the
walls of her chest, anxiety building in her gut as she refused to look directly
at Kieran. What could she even say to him? How was she supposed to broach a
topic this massive?
Derik
cleared his throat.
Jerica
glanced at him, then blushed and looked away. He was right. She needed to get
on with this already. Figure out what to say.
"...Are
you angry, ma'am?" Kieran asked after a moment, voice quiet and timid.
Jerica's
gaze snapped up, startled, finally looking at him. "What? No. Why would
you think that?"
Kieran
blushed profusely, his usual sepia skin growing russet as he refused to meet
her gaze. "I... know you don't like to be embarrassed..."
"I'm
not embarrassed," Jerica said, forcing her tone to be calm and metered.
She needed to be the adult here. To keep her emotions in check so she didn't
get him more worked up than he needed to be. "I... admit I was...
surprised... but... that... isn't necessarily... a bad thing?"
Kieran
furrowed his brow, perplexed, and risked a quick glance at her before averting
his gaze once again. "... oh."
Jerica
nodded tensely. Was... that a good 'oh'? Did those even exist? She glanced at
Derik. He gave her an encouraging nod, urging her to keep going, though he
didn't add anything to the conversation. Jerica forced herself to take a deep
breath.
"...did
you..." She wet her lips. "...mean to...?"
"No
ma'am." He shook his head quickly. "It—it was an accident, I swear
it. I'm sorry."
"It's
okay." She shook her head and bit her lip. That made this more complicated
-- Kieran denying what Derik claimed was undeniable truth. "I... I didn't
think you did..."
"Did
you not mean it--?" Derik cut in, voice gentle as he sank down in a seat
near the foot of the bed, a way away from them. "Or did you not mean to say
it? Those are different things."
Somehow,
Kieran blushed even further. Jerica imagined most of his blood must be in his
face at this point. Poor boy. "I-uh-I-I... uh..."
"You
don't have to answer right away," Derik said after a moment, offering him
a lifeline so he didn't drown in his own anxiety. "It's okay if you're not
ready to share that with us, yet." Jerica nodded in agreement. "...
and it's also okay if you're not sure yet, even. It's... a complicated
situation. I think we can all agree on that."
Kieran
nodded in agreement. Jerica did, too. That was the understatement of the
century.
"...
I do think it's worth it, however, for you to think about this
more," Derik said after a moment of silence. "Both of you."
Jerica's
face was burning. If Kieran had looked up, she didn't have any idea. She was
too busy staring at the blanket draped over the edge of the bed nearest her. Too
anxious to see how he was reacting to Derik's words. It'd break her heart if
Kieran reacted badly. She didn't want that.
"...
yessir," Kieran said after a moment. "I... I will."
Jerica
forced herself to take a deep breath, then she glanced up at Kieran -- a
lightning-quick glance on her way to looking at Derik. "...okay... I will,
too."
Derik
nodded.
That
wasn't going to stop her from running away, though. She took another deep
breath and stood up abruptly. "Do you, uh, need anything?"
"What?"
Kieran furrowed his brow.
"Can
I get you anything?" she stepped towards the door. "While you're, uh,
thinking?"
"Um...
no thank you?" He still seemed perplexed.
"Oh,
uh, well..." She took another step towards the door and pulled it open.
"I'll go, uh— and—y'know."
"You'll
go what?" Derik raised his eyebrow and looked at her skeptically.
"You can't run away every time a conversation makes you anxious."
"That's
where you're wrong." She finger-gunned and stepped into the hall.
"I'll be back... eventually..." She glanced at Kieran. "Rest up,
kiddo."
"Yes,
ma'am?"
She
gave him a quick nod then pulled the door mostly shut behind her and started
down the hall. There was a slight tremble in her limbs, but she moved fast
enough no one would be able to tell if she passed them in the hall.
But
Derik's words haunted her. 'You can't run away every time a conversation
makes you anxious.' Was that what she was doing? Running away from her
squire? From Kieran? And when he needed her the most, no less. How
shameful.
Jerica
slowed as guilt wrapped around her gut and seemed to tangle around her legs as
well. This was for her comfort – her benefit – not his. She
needed to stop being so selfish. Stop caring more about her own feelings than
her squire's. He was a little child and he needed her to be the responsible
one.
She
groaned and rubbed her face, trying to find the wherewithal to turn around and
go back. But she really didn't want to. And she couldn't find the
willpower right away, instead electing to lean against the wall. And hope to
whatever gods might exist that no one happened past her until she found the
courage to return to the infirmary.
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