Elia placed her hands on either side of him as he brought her down into a hug. She didn't want to hurt him any further than he was hurting. She debated chastising him for moving like this but he had been through enough. She wasn't going to add on to his plate.
The dam broke when he spoke to her. She couldn't remember a time in her life where she cried this often. She didn't like it. She kissed his cheek as softly as she could. "Hey." Her voice cracked.
She pulled herself put of his embrace and got off the bed swiftly. She wiped at her eyes as she found a jug and a glass. She filled it with water and moved to him. She put her hand on the back of his head, helping him lean up to drink the water. She held the cup to his lips.
Romulus felt his heart ache as she began to cry, though her kiss on his cheek made it ache less. When she lifted his head, he pushed himself up into a half-sitting position with his 'good' arm. Less damaged, anyway…
He drank the cup in about 2 swallows, needing more. He reached out and gently pulled her in closer to him.
The Prince had always been an intensely physical boy, and as a man with the ability to get just about any woman in bed with him, he'd never lost that bent. He'd tempered it, largely because Lear had taught him that not everyone was like that, but just now, he couldn't care less.
He wanted Elitia close to him, whether it hurt him or not. He needed that closeness.
It also allowed him to try to wipe her tears.
Elia fell into him as he pulled her close. She didn't fight his touch. She knew she should. She could be hurting him. She was hurting him. She needed to stop this. But it felt so good to be held. It felt good for him to hug her like this.. she wrapped an arm around his waist as she pressed her forehead against his.
She cried harder when he started to wipe her tears away. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
She kept repeating the words over and over again. She felt users. She felt she should have done something to help. She could have helped, at the expense of herself but he wouldn't let her. Perhaps she should have done it anyways to spare him of this assault
Romulus continued gently wiping her tears with his massive, shaking hand. He kept her pulled close, and managed to kiss her cheek with his cracked and split lips.
The Vespasian line was full of warriors and fighters, and Romulus was no different. to him ths level of wounding was just another day on the job. He was alive, and that meant he could heal, and as long as he could heal, he could work.
Elitia's tears were tearing at him, though. He knew for her, this level of violence was likely an awful shock, and he wanted to reassure her.
"Hey…I'm alright. Elitia, I'm alive, I can think, I've got all my bits and pieces, I've got you, it's a good day." His raspy voice was not helping, but he kissed her other cheek this time. "Please don't cry, Princess."
He meant it as a pet name, more than a title, and he hoped she could hear that, but even if not… well, he kinda doubted she'd slap him for it right now.
Elia's shoulder shook as she laughed a sad laugh. The tears slowed in their path but didn't fully dry up. She leaned in to kiss him softly, to reassure herself that he was there with her. He was awake and this was all real.
"It is not a good day, Romulus. Do see what he did to you? I c-can't, this is not okay. Why do you let him?" She pulled her head back just enough to look at his face, though the sight of him sent a fresh wave of tears. "I won't let this happen to you again. I won't."
The firmness of her voice meant she was entirely serious. She would do whatever it took, no matter the consequense to herself. She wouldn't let him continue to be treated like this.
Romulus kissed her back, gently. He listened to her and frowned slightly.
In fact, he couldn't see how bad he was. And he didn't remember what had happened.
"Elitia… What happened? Do you know?"
He was concerned by her words and tone. He really needed her to not do anything stupid, but she sounded very serious and very determined to do something about the situation.
Ths situation, of course, being his father.
Elia shooke her head, not wanting the think about it. She hadn't even been present for the assault, but the aftermath was horrific. She sniffled and wiped her nose. She recounted Lear's words and summarized it. "The king is angry with what you have been doing. He's upset you aren't following in his footsteps and trying to destroy Venians. The- the city was the last straw. It was the ammunition he needed to punish you." She put her head in her hands, needing a moment before she continued. "I could hear it. I could hear him beating you. Lear licked me in the study. I couldn't do anything. I-I couldn't-"
She cut herself off. Her words were starting to jumble together as she cried. She needed a moment to gather herself.
"I'm surprised you're alive Romulus. I- the damage is awful. You might have brain damage. Or nerve damage. Or…or…"
Romulus nodded, thinking, before his eye widened. He looked at her with legitimate fear in his eyes.
"Lear. Where is Lear?"
The thought that Lear had clearly been there for the promised beating made him very afraid. His father had threatened Lear more than once, and Romulus hadn't seen him yet. He was suddenly very worried that something had happened to his friend.
He pulled Elitia down into his shoulder, trying to comfort her, trying to pull her away from the hurt obvious in her voice.
"Or, what?"
Elia laid her head on his shoulder as she was pulled down. "Lear is fine. He went with Carth to deal with all the children. I wouldn't let anything happen to him." She meant that as well. She had come to care for Romulus and Lear, each in different ways. She felt a deep emotional connection with Lear, likely trauma bonding themselves. She couldn't picture a life without his presence in it. They understood each other on a level that Romulus couldn't. And she never wanted him to understand them. With Romulus, she felt with him on a physical and emotional connection. She wasn't sure exactly what it was. She wouldn't label it as romantic but it sure wasn't platonic.
She shook her head against his shoulder. She didn't want to think bout anymore. She didn't want to think about hie wounds. She didn't want think about that his father could have paralyzed him or cause permanent damaged. She didn't want to think about what he could have done to his head.
His head!
She shot up and started pulling at his eye lids, trying to remember what Lear said they would need to do.
Romulus breathed a deep sigh of relief, despite his ribs complaining. He's fine… * He wasn't bothered by the way she talked about Lear, although he did feel a question mark bubble up in his chest. *Didn't realize they were that close…
He held her close, and kissed the top of her head, trying to be comforting.
And suddenly, she attacked him.
"Whoa, whoa, hey, easy!?" He couldn't fend her off, his arms not responding quickly enough. She was pulling at his eye lids, one of which was swollen badly, not opening at all, the other of which was cut and sending shooting pains through his broken orbital bone.
"No, no. Lear said I need to check your head. Something about che king your eyes or something. I can't remember. Damnit, why can't I remember?"
Elia wasn't used to treating this severe of damage. She didn't know how to handle head wounds like this. She knew how to handle other parts of the body but Madame Rosette never touched anyone's head. She couldn't get a profit off of them if she caused brain damage. Not many would be willing to sleep with a girl that couldn't function.
She was in too much of a panic to remember what Lear had told her. Her head was scrambling to remember. Her thoughts were everywhere. She couldn't think straight.
Romulus yelped as his cut eyelid tore open again and began bleeding.
"Elitia, stop. Now." He managed to keep from yelling at her, between the hurt and his throat he wound up talking at normal volume. He grabbed her wrists in one of his hands and pulled them away from his face.
He also tugged down, which pulled her face down close to his, and kissed her lips, harder than before. Her thoughts were clearly scrambled, and if they were going to be scrambled, it may as well be for a good reason.
His lips were cut and rough, but the kiss was still him, deep and strong and smelling of metal and leather and, at the moment, blood.
His grip on her wrists wasn't very strong, but his hand closed all the way around them both, the size difference highlighted.
Elia hadn't been expecting him to kiss her. She hadn't been expecting him to do anything at all. Her head was all over the place. She couldn't think straight. So when he kissed her, her mind blanked and sank right into him.
She knew to be gentle but that was about all she could remember. She didn't pull herself for his grip. She let him hold her, though in his condition, she could easily pull out of his hold.
Her tears stopped flowing and they dried on her cheeks. Her chest pressed into his, a light pressure against his wounds. She kissed him softly, gently. But she let it be known how much she cared for him. She tried to infuse her emotions, her feelings, into the kiss. He needed to know. She couldn't loose him.
Romulus smiled into the kiss as she melted into him. He lifted his other arm in its cast to loop it around her waist and rest it there, pulling her further into him. She wasn't heavy, and she was soft, so her body settling onto his didn't hurt too much. Certainly not enough to make him want to move her.
He pulled away to breathe, but immediately dived back into another kiss, not giving her long to think. His usual rumbles of enjoyment were more like small raspy noises at this point, but he needed this contact, this affection, this gentle touch after all the harsh touches.
She was very gentle with him, and he almost wished she'd be rougher, but he knew she knew it would hurt him. Still, her intensity in the moment was coming through, and Romulus took comfort in that.
Elia let the kiss intensify. Her movements became quicker, needier. She wanted him to know she wanted him just as much but his wounds prevented her from taking anything further. She couldn't be rough. She wanted to. She wanted to give him all of her affection. But he was hurt. Badly. They would have to be careful.
That knowledge didn't stop her from kissing him. She only sunk further into him. He was there. He was with her. They were together. They would be okay.
Romulus wanted to take this further. Right now, he needed the tenderness. But he absolutely could not move like he'd need to, or how he wanted to. He couldn't even get off his back that easily, he was pretty sure, and there was no way he was going to ask her for… favors of any kind. Not with her background.
So he pulled away to get control of himself after a bit. He didn't let go of her, didn't relax his hold on her, he just didn't go back in for that next kiss.
"Just breathe…" he said softly. He didn't want her panicking over him.
Elia kept her forehead against his when they stopped kissing. Her eyes were squeezed shut. She feared if she opened them she would start crying again.
She nodded at him and focused on taking deep breaths. She couldn't be falling apart. Not while he was injured. She needed to be strong and support him. Not the other way around. That wasn't fair on him. String. She needed to be strong.
"I'm alright." She murmured. She pulled away just for a moment to grab a fresh towel. She quickly moved back to his embrace, not wanting to part from him for too long. She gently dabbed at the wound that had reopened due to her panick. "I'm sorry."
As she moved, Romulus felt himself getting tired. Not a good sign…
She was back with a rag, dabbing at his eye, and he didn't flinch as she cleaned it. He tried to think why she would've been grabbing at it.
"Lear probably told you to check my eyes, reflexes, speech patterns, cognitive functions, all that stuff, right?" It was the typical check for head trauma.
Elia nodded down at him. She tossed the rag to the side when she finished cleaning up all the blood. "How are you feeling? Is there anything i can for you?"
She felt utterly useless. There wasn't anything could do other than sit by his side and wait. He would heal in time, but it was a waiting game. She didn't want to wait. She wanted him healed now. She thought about searching for a healer. A magical one, to aid un his injuries, but she wouldn't know where to start. And it would be suspicious if he healed too quickly.
"I'm alright. Feels like you and Lear did a pretty decent job with the bandages and stuff." He swallowed thickly, trying to clear his throat. "Umm, so without pulling at my eyelids, if you shine a light into my eyes and the pupils don't contract quickly, it's bad. So try that." He knew all the head trauma things and could rattle them off for her, but talking her through them slower would be better.
It would also get his mind off of the other things his brain wanted to fill in when she asked what she could do. He knew better than to entertain the thoughts in his head.
Elia nodded. She kissed his cheek before getting up. She looked around for what to use but was ultimately at a loss. She could grab a lit candle and use that but she wasn't sure if they had anything better to use. She was unsure of the progress the palace had made in all those years she had been gone.
She looked to him. The desperation clear in her eyes. She wanted so badly to help. Her hands were fidgeting by her side. She could feel her anxiety rising. She wished she had a glass of wine to drink. It would help calm her.
Romulus glanced over by the door. "There should be a small lantern by the door. Matches in the top drawer of the dresser." She looked like she was ready to bolt, and his heart hurt for her. Being here must be making her crazy, on top of everything else.
A thought crossed his mind. "Bottle of wine in the ice box near the sink in the kitchen, if you want…"
Elia sighed in relief he knew what to do. And for the wine. She rushed to grab the small lantern and struck a match to light it. She also grabbed the bottle of wine out with a glass.
She returned and set the wine and glass on the side table. She climbed up on the bed, sitting next to him, with the lantern. She put her hand gently on his cheek and held the latern uo to his eyes. She murmured a quiet apology for shining such a bright light in his face.
The one eye he could open contracted slowly, which was exactly what shouldn't happen. With that much light, they should have shrunk quickly.
"Whatcha see?"
He was glad she seemed relieved. He could walk her through this, and they'd be ok.
Elia bit her lip. She placed the lantern aside and put her hands in her lap. She looked at him with a dark expression. "Ummm, it's not doing what it's supposed to do."
She sat back in the bed, ringing her hands in from of him, fidgeting more. She waited for him to tell her what to do.
