We're not close enough for that, you still hate me!
He didn't say it though. She was vulnerable, and as much as she despised him, he still wanted good things for her, and snapping now would not be good.
"You know what I meant. Are you back with us?" He kept his voice gentle.
She looked so soft, Romulus nearly pulled her back into his lap. And the apology rocked him.
She must really have taken some damage from that attack….
He didn't say anything, acknowledging her apology with a nod.
Her request made sense, but…
Well, his tent was a collection of smashed furniture and scraps of canvas.
"You can sleep in the meeting tent with the rest of your group. Lily and Calvin will want to know you're ok."
He stood to walk her there, and immediately toppled over, his head swimming and the tent spinning. He landed flat on his back, the motion reopening some of the slashes across his shoulders that had started to clot. He hissed through his teeth, and tried to sit up, but couldn't get his bearings.
Elia watched her hands as she picked at her nails. "I'm back." She murmured quietly. She didn't really want to discuss her episode. There were somethings better left unsaid.
She lifted her gaze to him. There was no heat in her eyes, there was not strength. She was tired and sad and scared. Whatever she had seen, it had rocked her to her core.
"I'm not ready to see them." I'm not ready for their questions.
Lily and Calvin had seen a side of her she had tried so hard to hide from them. And now that they had seen a glimpse, she felt humiliated and vulnerable. No one was ever supposed to see her like that. She hadn't had an episode in so long, she thought they were gone. She was wrong.
Elia let out a loud gasp as the prince stood then fell. She was quickly on her feet to take the one step to reach him, and kneeled by his side.
"Quit moving," she flicked his head. Not hard enough to cause any damage, just a small sting. "You know when I asked you what was wrong, you should tell me what's actually wrong and not 'I'm tired.'"
He'd been glad she was 'back'. The Prince wasn't going to ask what had been the problem, and certainly not now that he was flat on his back.
"I don't know what to tell you." He mumbled. "Everyone will be in the meeting tent, so if you don't want to sleep alone, that's your best bet. The guards will be busy, Lear and I will be busy. "
She had knelt next to him, and he was struck by the fact she seemed concerned.
First an apology, now concern… She must have been hit in the head too.
She flicked him.
Nevermind.
He rolled onto his stomach and got to his hands and knees, closing his eyes for a moment to stop his head from pounding so hard. "Fine, I've got six gashes across my chest and shoulders, claw marks on my chest and arms, no skin on my knuckles, and my head is trying to split because somebody hit me with a shovel, I think." He pushed himself to his feet, taking an unsteady step to get his balance. "But why do you care, you don't wanna help me. In fact, you're probably glad to see I'm not perfect, not invincible." He was slurring his words a bit, focusing hard on keeping his balance. "Now head to the tent, or I can send someone to stay outside your tent and make sure you're safe." He headed out the flap.
Elia's eyes widened as he listed off his injuries. That fact he was standing was a miracle. Though he wasn't standing very well.
She rushed to his side, grabbing his arm to steady him, though there wasn't much she could for the mountain of a man.
"You're funny if you think im going to let you do your princely duties without checking you first. Your wounds need to be cleaned and bandage unless you fancy an infection. And you likely have a concussion. You'll do no good to anyone if you pass out somewhere and sleeping while concussed is a dangerous thing." She was scolding him like a mother would her accident prone son. "We're going straight to the medic tent and if yoi even try to fight me on it I'll drag you there by your ears."
The look she was giving him said she wasn't afraid to follow up her words. She helped him out of the tent and started guiding him towards the medical tent.
"If I didn't want to help you I would have pushed you over and laughed as you fell on your face. Despite what you think about me, I'm not heartless, just guarded." Very, very guarded, but she had good reason to be. "Now would you stop being so stubborn for once and let me do thos? Or are you going to fight me on ever step of the way?:
He didn't shake his head, which would've been disastrous, but he did shift his weight to head towards the meeting tent. "I've worked while injured much worse than this. As much as I hate it, responsibility waits for no man." His bulk easily moved, despite her insistence, but he didn't pull away from her. Her touch was soothing, at the very least, and Romulus found himself leaning into her, not leaning his weight on her, but just… wanting to be close.
Despite the fact that she was still trying to push his buttons.
"I appreciate you not pushing me over, Elia. But I still need to look after the camp and the kids, so yes, if you insist I can't do that, I will fight you all the way." He didn't want to, though. He'd prefer if she would help him.
The Prince stopped moving, and turned so he was facing her. With her grip on his arm, they wound up very close, and she could feel him swaying as he worked to stay upright. He looked straight down into her face, and in the light from the fire, she could see the pleading look on his face. "But, I'd prefer you to help me, Elia. I'll get medical attention, believe me, but I have to attend to some things first, and the sooner I'm done there, the sooner I can go get fixed. So please, please, don't fight me on this." He looked into her beautiful eyes a moment longer, before turning and continuing towards the meeting tent.
He still didn't pull away from her.
Elia sighed as she looked up at him. Stubborn man.
"And you will do us no good if you fall over while trying to deliver what I'm sure is a moving speech. You need medical attention first. I'm sure Lear can hold down the fort while I take a lot at your wounds." She needed to stop the bleeding and clean the wounds as soon as possible. Infections were nasty and could travel quickly. She needed to care for his back. Then she needed to look at his head. Head wounds were tricky and dangerous. You could appear fine, but the moment you rested your head, you were falling into a coma or succumbing to death.
"I don't understand what you think is more important than your own health. If you fall over because you decided not to listen to me, just know that I am going to laugh at you before I help you>" The gaze in her eyes told him she was serious. She would enjoy every moment watching him fall on his face before offering to help him.
"What do you need me for, Romulus? It's been made clear I'm not very welcome here." There was no bite to her words. Her voice was just laced with exhaustion. She was tired of fighting. She was just tired.
Romulus grunted at her. "Do I look like the speech-giving type to you?" He paused just outside the tent. "There are a lot of things more important than my health. And you've never stopped scorning me, so I'm not sure why you think your laughter would be worse."
He didn't respond to her 'not welcome' comment, which he knew was a load of garbage, even with his raging headache making him think slower. She'd been offered a life, had turned it down, and was still under his protection. She was clearly much more than just 'welcome' here.
They stepped into the tent, and Lear walked over to them. "Most of the kids have decided to stay here. The teens are staying with them." He noted Romulus swaying slightly.
The Prince nodded and began walking towards the various small clusters of kids and teens trying to settle on the ground amongst pukes of blankets and pillows from their tents. He knelt by the first group and talked to them for a bit, asking questions, reassuring, and generally calming the situation.
He got to his feet after a few minutes, swaying still, and moved to the next group.
It took him about a half hour, but he talked to everybody in the tent, assuaged every fear, and generally brought a sense of peace to the scared children. When he was done, he nodded at Lear, and headed back out, towards the med tent.
He hadn't been rough, but he still hadn't pulled away from Elia totally.
Elia threaded her arm through his, trying to offer him some sort of stability. If he fell on her, she would be squished. He might kill her, actually. But if he used her just ti help stabilize himself, perhaps it would go a but better.
She didn't speak as the prince spoke to the kids but she never once left his side, nor did she ever truly let go of him. She offered some of her own words to the kids, trying to provide some support.
Elia let out a breath of relief she hadn't realized she had been holding as they finally moved tieards the medical tent. She quickly guided him to an open bed and helped him sit.
Lily was kneeling next to Calvin in the med tent, stroking his hair gently. The kick had actually broken some of his floater ribs, and she'd helped him bandage his torso. She glanced up as Romulus and Elia came in, and in the lantern light of the tent, she could see the Prince's wounds.
She stood and gathered a few things, bringing them over to Elia. "I got some bandages and the salve they had us put on the wounds today." She handed the roll of bandages and the little jar of salve to Elia, looking worried. "Is he gonna be ok?" The girl didn't ask about Elia's episode earlier. She didn't know how to ask, despite being worriedly curious.
Romulus smiled at her. "Thank you, Lily. Is Calvin alright?" He gave her a thumbs up when she nodded. "We're good here, go back to him and make sure he sleeps." Lily nodded and went back, kneeling and stroking Calvin's hair again. Romulus looked up at Elia. "I can apply that stuff if you'd rather not."
Elia nodded to Lily. "He'll be fine. He might be a but of a baby but he's just exaggerating." She took the material from her, glad she didn't mention qnything about earlier. She was too embarrassed to speak about it. Her cheeks a soft pink.
She turned her head to look at Romulus. He was about the same hight as her sitting down. If she was anyone else, she would be intimidated but she wasn't anyone else. "I'm not squeamish, I can do it."
She found clean cloth and some water and gently washed the blood from his back. She cleaned the scratches she had made on him, the apology in her eyes as she looked at him.
She took the salve and placed a generous amount on each wound. She used the bandages to wrap the wounds on his back.
She came back around to face him. "I need to check your head. Conclusions can be dangerous. And if you got hit with a shovel it's likely it could be serious no matter how hard headed you are "
Lily hadn't asked, and Romulus was glad. He hadn't had a chance to tell the teens not to bring it up, but they seemed to know. Or at least, to not know how.
The Prince nodded at Elia, his exhaustion starting to take over. He held still, managing not to flinch. The salve stung as it sanitized the wounds, before the pain reducers in it kicked in.
He slumped slightly as she came around in front of him. "Do you want me to handle the ones on my chest? I'd like to get those bandages sooner than later, my head can wait." He wasn't trying to be impatient, it was just that his chest was really hurting him. His head was too, but not in a way they could easily fix.
He knew fell well he was likely concussed. The guy who had hit him had caught him off guard and absolutely beaned him with some large metal tool. He had to assume it was a shovel from the noise.
Romulus couldn't see it, or feel it really, but his head was bleeding from the blow. It was only noticeable when you were close to his height, which nobody was until he was sitting down.
Elia just nodded silently. She stepped between his legs, letting him relax against her if he chose too. She carefully wrapped his chest, being as gentle as she was able to. She had a soft touch, as if she had plenty experience dealing wounds. Which she did.
When she was finished, without moving from her spot, she gently touched his head. When her hands came away sticky with blood. She grabbed her previous cloth and dabbed at the wound, cleaning it once more. She wrapped up his head as well.
"This isn't going to be what you want to hear, but someone is going to need to wake you up every hour to make sure you're alright. I'll grab a tonic to help you with the pain if you would like."
She placed her hand on his chin to make sure he was looking at her. "Head injuries are serious. You're going to need to be careful. No fighting for a bit. And you need to be on bed rest."
She was very close to him, and Romulus was tired, and hurt, and upset, and a host of other negative feelings he didn't have the energy to fight. He couldn't help the hitch in his breathing when she touched his chest, her touch feather light on his skin, her fingers gentle. His wounds stopped hurting after a bit, and she didn't move.
He had to work not to lean into her hand when she ran her fingers through his hair. He wasn't aware he was bleeding, but she caught it and fixed it, and he was grateful.
He nodded slowly. "I've been concussed before, I know the drill. I probably ought to go check on everyone pretty often anyway." He waved off the tonic. "Thank you though."
He was not expecting her to pull his chin up, but he didn't resist, and the proximity and the gentle look on her beautiful face did things to him. He swallowed, hard, unable to hide his feelings in the least bit. It was all he could do to protest.
"I'll rest for tonight as much as I can, but I can't be down by morning. These kids need a lot of organizing to get them out of here, and Lear will have enough on his plate dealing with the Calegon political leaders." His eyes stayed fixed on hers, his emotional state making him want to please her. "But I'll be as careful as I can be, Elia. Thank you."
Elia gripped his chin tight. "It wasn't a request, darling. You're on bed rest tomorrow. Lear and I can handle it just tell me what I need to do. You're barely able to stand right now, you're not going to be any better by tomorrow. I know how to handle children."
She ran her hands through his hair, being careful to avoid his wound. She had noticed how much he enjoyed it and for now, she wanted him to relax.
She didn't glance at the children. She assumed they would be smart enough not to mention this to anyone. She was intimidating enough they shouldn't.
She ran her hands down to his arms, lifting them so that they rested on her hips. "Come on, let's go to bed. I'll watch over you."
Romulus didn't respond, too tired and too distracted to try to argue with her. He'd deal with it in the morning.
His eyes fluttered shut as she played with his hair. He had avoided showing any interest in her in a physical way, not wanting her to feel pressured, or worse, to try to trade sexual favors for some kind of power over him. She wasn't a whore anymore, and he would not treat her like one.
But she was the one who put his hands on her hips, a rather inviting gesture, and he wasn't going to tell her no.
"I guess I'm sleeping right here, although I don't know if this poor little cot will hold both of us…" He was slurring his words again, this time from sleepiness and relaxation.
Elia smiled gently at him. "Don't worry about me, darling. You need to sleep. I'll watch over you and protect you from any of the big, bad men."
She put her hands on his shoulders, guiding him to lie down on the cot that was certainly too small for him. If had even attempted to lie down with him, she was sure the cot would break. It looked to be straining to hold his weight. She wished she could take him back to his own tent to sleep in a bed that would hold him better but she didn't think he would make the journey.
She pulled up a chair next to the bed. It was unlikely she was going to get any sleep anyways. Her episode from earlier had shaken her. She felt if she tried to sleep she would be plagued with nightmares.
"When you're feeling better, perhaps I'll let you take me to bed. Only if you say the magic word."
Darling, huh. Well that's different.
Romulus opened his eyes, to see her smiling at him. Beautiful, but… Venomous, indeed. went through his head.
"If you see any big bad men, you wake me. Don't let me sleep through that." He didn't slur this time, wanting her to take him seriously. If the criminals tried another attack, Romulus was not going to sleep through it and let more people potentially get hurt.
He lay down, trying to get comfortable, and watched as she pulled up a chair. He had to smile at her words. There it is.
"I'm happy with you just speaking to me, Elia." he said genuinely. She was more than a potential bedmate to him. "Will you sleep?" He had a feeling she wouldn't, after all that had happened, and he couldn't blame her. If he hadn't been literally cracking skulls and breaking down doors all day, he probably wouldn't either.
Elia let out a quiet laugh. "What? Don't think I can handle any scary men?" She couldn't but he didn't need to know that. She was a lover, not a fighter. She'd never killed anyone. And the only way she had ever physically harmed anyone was because they weren't expecting it from her. She survived because she complied, not because she fought back.
"And who says we can't do both, darling?" She crossed her ankles. She found herself seeking out his hand to hold. She wasn't a relationship kind of girl, of any kind. She didn't have friends, she didn't have lovers. She just had loyal patrons who came to her because they wanted something from her. To destress, to unload their problems, to forget for a little while. She didn't do commitment. She doubted she would be any good at it.
"Someone has to watch over you. I can't very well do that if I'm asleep. Now stop worrying and close your eyes. Everything will be alright."
He didn't think she could handle big scary men, but. "It's not you I'm super worried about." He glanced in Calvin and Lily's direction, making it clear he was more worried about the kids.
He smiled softly. "Only if you want to, Elia." He wasn't trying to proposition her, and certainly not in his current state.
He breathed out slowly, settling into the cot, and was out before he realized it.
Elia curled up in the chair, tucking her knees under her chin. She glanced at the kids, making sure they were alright before refocusing on the prince. Her head was a mess. She didn't know what to think anymore. She was supposed to hate him. His father was the reason her family was dead. The king had slain her parents himself. And her siblings, her siblings were all killed as well. It didn't matter that they were children. Because of their Callistar blood, they weren't allowed to live. Any one of them could have a claim to the throne. If only they knew that Elia had survived. It was imperative that no one found out.
She had no desire to become queen. She wasn't meant to rule. She was the seventh-born child of the king. She was supposed to be so far down the line it would never reach her. But now here she was, the last surviving Callistar. She wondered if people would rally in her name, if they would form a rebellion and put her on the throne.
She never wanted to know. Her identity must be kept a secret. it could be dangerous for many people should anyone find out who she was.
But this man before her, his blood the bane of her problems, he was nothing of she thought he would be. Perhaps he would be a good ruler, a better one than she ever would have been. But he wanted her to go with him. To give her titles and land and money. He wanted her to go to court. He wanted her under the same roof as the man who killed her.
What if she was recognized? She had no way of telling if any of the old staff still resided in the palace. It might have been twelve years but anyone who was specifically under her care would likely recognize her.
All this thinking made her head hurt. She tried to push the thoughts out of her head. She needed to keep an eye on the time. As the first hour past, she leaned down, giving the prince a small shake, and whispering in his ear, "I need you to wake for me, darling. I'm sorry I have to be doing this."
Romulus came awake with a gasp and a twitch, a long habit formed by awaking to the sounds of battle one too many times in his youth. He managed to keep from flailing his hands, registering someone had called him 'darling' and figuring in his half asleep mind he probably shouldn't hurt them.
He was very disoriented, not recognizing where he was or the voice, but as he blinked sleepily up into her face, he recognized Elia.
"Oh. Right." His voice was deeper than normal, seeming to come from his chest rather than his mouth. He tried to sit up, moved too quickly, and found himself toppling off the cot, the room spinning viciously, before he even realized he was upright.
This is becoming a bad habit… some small part of him said as he found himself on the ground for the 3rd time in the last few hours.
Elia let out a small gasp as he fell off the cot. She jumped out of her seat and kneeled in front of him. "I'm beginning to think I have an effect on you to literally cause you to fall for me." She teased to cover up her concern. She cupped his cheek, pursing her lips as she looked at him. "You're not well. You need lay down and stay down, Romulus. You're of no good to anyone if you keep hurting yourself."
She wasn't sure how she was going to get him off the floor and back to the cot. She was not strong enough to pick him up, much less an average sized man. He was huge, there was no denying that.
"I know you think that you're invincible and you'll be fine, but I hate to break it to you that you're not. You to rest and recover." She did understand it would be hard for him to rest if she had to wake up every so often to make sure he was doing okay. If they got through the first twenty-four hours, he should be alright to sleep like normal. It would still be wise for someone to be near him in case of an emergency.
( XD nice catch on the symbolism, and yes, I'm going to pretend it was on purpose XP )
The Prince frowned, protesting sleepily. "I didn't try to get up, just fell is all." He wasn't fully awake, but he managed to reach up and snag the pillow from the cot, sticking it under his head. "I'll just stay down here, no falling."
He didn't realize he did it, but Romulus absolutely leaned his head into her palm when she touched him. "Can I sleep now?" He wasn't thinking clearly enough to remember how long he'd need to be awake between sleeping hours.
Lear came in to check that things were going ok. He wasn't planning on getting any sleep tonight either. He looked over at where Lily and Calvin were lying together on their cot. The children on the other side of the sheet were sleeping well, the few guards watching over them sleeping in shifts.
And then he noticed Elia, comforting Romulus over on the ground. He wasn't sure it was an intentional choice, but it was likely the best option. Romulus had sustained plenty of head wounds over his time fighting, and his equilibrium was always the first thing to go, though the Prince would never admit it.
Lear walked over to them and sat on the now-empty cot. "Everything alright?"
Obviously, he meant as much as it could be.
(lol)
Elia laughed softly at his words. She shook her head in amusement. She pulled a blanket off the cot and covered him with it. "I don't think it's going to be very comfortable on the floor, darling."
She stroked his cheek with her thumb. She was smiling brighter than she had realized, showing off her white teeth. A beautiful, genuine smile. Very few people had seen that smile and even fewer of them were still alive. "You can sleep now. I'll wake you again in a few hours. I know you won't want to but it's to be on the safe side. I can't have dying on me before you give me my ladyship."
An admission, one she hoped he would be too tired to talk about now. They could figure out the details later and she would hit her head repeatedly on a wall when she was alone and curse herself for her stupidity. If she got caught, it would be her own fault at that point.
Elia was startled when Lear sat down. She had been too lost in caring for Romulus to notice his approach. She lifted her hand off his cheek and moved it to her side quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed exactly how close they had been.
"He's injured more than he let on. He needs to be on bed rest for a couple of days. Which means no work for him. I told him we could take care of whatever was on his to-do list." She didn't mention herself. She really didn't want to talk about it. She only looked at the marks she had made on his arms, staring at it, and guilt flooded her again. She hadn't meant to hurt him. She wasn't herself.
Romulus drifted back to sleep pretty quickly, her touch on his face soothing him. She'd said several things that had him a bit confused, but he was so tired, he didn't want to deal with it now.
Lear had caught the ladyship comment, but didn't address it just yet. "Thank you for caring for him, Elia." He glanced affectionately down at the giant of a man asleep on the ground. "And if you're being nice, I won't be bothered, you don't have to flinch." He said quietly after she'd pulled her hand back so quickly.
He nodded slowly at her comments. "I don't disagree with you, but good luck keeping him down. This man has worked from the back of Ruir for days on end before, because he couldn't walk." A look crossed his face, something angry, but it was muted. "His father has pushed him so hard before, he's just gotten used to working while he's less than 100%." He paused, thinking of all the times he'd seen the King berate the Prince for his reputation, but in truth, Romulus used people's perception of him as some sort of partying jock like a cloak, covering his actual activities. He shook his head a little, coming back to the conversation.
"I have to go try to deal with the leadership down in Calegon. Romulus was going to organize the guards taking the kids back, and the messages they would need to send, but now I'm thinking we just send back one guard with a call for help. At this point, we need to keep all of ours safe, and though the Prince will never say this himself, we do need to keep him alive, so more soldiers will be necessary."
He looked at her, calculating for a moment. "So…. your ladyship, huh?"
