The pain pierced through her sleep and roused her. She was not in her room. She panicked for a moment before seeing both Evander and Egon asleep in chairs. The room was more opulent and cluttered than her guest room. She must be in Egon's room. She reached out to touch Evander's hair. He had slumped over and was lying on the edge of the bed. He shot up.
"Pain…" She breathed. He immediately got up and woke Egon.
"She's in pain." He said gravely. Egon got up and left the room, only to return within moments with the same doctor from the night before. He must have the doctor staying in the house, she thought.
"Here, take this." The doctor used a large dropper to pull up some liquid from a bottle and brought it to her mouth. She opened, allowing him to drip in a nasty, bitter liquid. She swallowed, making a face. "Yeah, it's not very pleasant, but it does its job. Let's take a look now."
"Okay," she said quietly, but he was already pulling the heavy blankets off her and fussing with bandages that definitely needed a change. The doctor pulled clean gauze from his bag and began to repack her wound. She flinched, but with deep breathing, she managed not to do much more.
"I'll need to go get more supplies." He said to Egon. "She needs some light food, if she'll tolerate it."
"I'll take care of it. You go. Be quick." Egon responded.
"I'll ask the kitchen for some food for her," Evander said, getting up and leaving the room, too. Egon took his place by her side.
"I'm surprised he's leaving at all. He's barely left the room since we got back." Egon told her, taking her hand in his.
"His mother was ill in his care. He was imprisoned for stealing some bread for her to eat." She explained quietly. She felt like if she spoke any louder, she might split open.
"So he wants to feed you," Egon said with realization. "He's a good man. It's a shame he had to go through that."
"If we make it through all this, I want to make sure it never happens to anyone in my kingdom again." She insisted.
"That's a lofty dream. I guess you'd better live through this then." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "When you go back, I'm going with you. I can't do much against the darkness, but I can certainly handle the coward that controls it."
"I can't ask you to…"
"No. It's decided." He insisted. She rolled her eyes.
"Are all men like this? Just forcing their will on those they think can't stop them?" she asked. He looked taken aback.
"Please, I beg you. Allow me to come with you." He was earnest in his request. She had half a mind to still say no. She was his queen, and he would be honor-bound to listen to her. But she didn't. She wanted him to come too.
"Fine." The door opened, and Evander came in with a tray.
"Let's get you propped up." Egon pulled a couple of pillows from the other side of the bed, put his arm behind her, and lifted her, using his free arm to stuff the pillows behind her back. The whole ordeal felt like being sliced open all over again. She took some deep breaths, steadying herself.
"It's just some broth and bread." Evander set the food on the end table by the bed. Egon moved to let him sit next to her. "I'll hold the tray steady if you think you can feed yourself."
"Okay." She reached out and pulled apart the bread to dip into the broth. It was a nice, rich broth. She realized suddenly that she was starving, which made her wonder what time of day it was. She forced herself to eat slowly to make sure she didn't overeat or make herself sick, but she still managed the whole lot. "Thank you, Evander."
"Of course." He put the tray back onto the end table and reached for her hand to squeeze it.
"I need to go to the outhouse." She said glumly. This was not something she wanted help with, but she didn't see how she'd manage it on her own. Egon was swift in producing a strangely shaped earthenware dish of sorts.
"A bedpan, so you can go without being moved too much," Egon explained. "I'll get someone to help you. When you're done, you can get some more sleep."
It was Evander who woke her next. He gently nudged her, kissed her forehead, and said her name quietly. When she got a good look at him, he looked tense. The doctor stood behind him with his apothecary bag.
"Is something wrong?" She began to try to sit up, and Evander's arm was immediately around her shoulders helping, his free arm was stuffing pillows behind her.
"No. You just have a visitor. I'm afraid we couldn't turn him away." The doctor, who looked annoyed, gave her more of that bitter medicine as Evander spoke and then helped himself to her bandages.
"You're healing quickly. Are you Elvin? Fae?" He asked.
"I'm a lot of things." She replied and turned her attention to Evander. "Why couldn't we turn him away?"
"Because he's the prince, apparently." Evander scoffed. "And somehow that means you don't get to heal in peace."
"See him in," She stated, pulling her blankets up over her chest. She wasn't about to turn away royalty while posing as a commoner.
"Okay," Evander agreed, a little surprised. He left the room and the doctor followed. It didn't take long for her to hear the flamboyant voice of last night's host in the hallway outside, then her door opened and he burst in with Egon and Evander in tow.
"Queen Mina," The prince said, much to her surprise. She glared at Egon. "Oh, don't be mad at him. He had to tell me to get the force of the king's guard behind him."
"I'll have to have him tell me more about their rescue of me later." She said, almost threateningly.
"I guarantee your secret is safe with me and my family." He insisted. "The darkness isn't something any of us wants loose in the world."
"I can't imagine it would be good for anybody." She smiled tightly.
"No, it wouldn't." He said under his breath. "But, more importantly right now, how are you doing? I heard you acquired a bit of an injury."
"Yes, your guest, Barrett, tried to eviscerate me. Unfortunately for him, I'd picked an ornately beaded bodice." She was actually really sad about the dress. She would have loved to have taken it home with her.
"That's lucky. I wanted to extend my deepest apologies for the involvement of one of my guests. We're holding his hosts to be sure they didn't know about his intentions, without outing you, of course."
"His hosts?" She asked.
"Yes, the couple from Ferron. I believe you briefly met them? So far, they seem aghast that he would try to hide his friend's drugged and kidnapped girlfriend on their boat." He assured her.
"I guess that's good then."
"You look exhausted. I'm so sorry to have bothered you. I just wanted to see that our palace doctor was serving you well and assure you that you have not been outed." He placed his hand over hers.
"He says I'm healing very well." She assured him.
"Good. Then I will keep you no longer. Just be sure one of these men lets us know if you need anything during your stay." He insisted.
"Of course. I will."