章 628: In the Middle of the Road
While Aurora was still processing the words, there was a disturbance outside the hastily constructed tent.
The commotion neared as Devrim's voice roared over the din. "Where is my wife? Clear out of the way. I need to see her now!"
Zan, who must have been waiting outside the entire time, called out the Emperor. "Here, Your Majesty! She is inside with the doctor, healer, and Brinn."
"Is she?" Devrim choked on the question.
"Her Majesty is awake. In fact, she is probably hearing you right now." The mirth in Zan's voice was left unanswered.
With a smile, Aurora watched as a piece of the canvas was enthusiastically thrown back.
"My love!" The relief on Devrim's face was profound. The creases on his forehead relaxed, revealing just how deep the lines of worry had grown.
Yet, to Aurora, he had never looked more handsome. He smiled and her heart fluttered. It felt like when she was seeing him for the first time after being apart for a long time.
'We have been apart,' Aurora realized, 'just not physically.'
Devrim knelt by his wife, caught up her hand, and kissed it. His eyes filled with tears as he traced the lines of her face.
Moving out of the way, Brinn rolled her eyes. "We get it… you like her. Do you have to show it?" A hint of a smile played around the elf's mouth. She had also clearly been quite worried.
Rafa and Sav were nearly at the end of their examination. Only Aurora's left leg remained to be examined.
The doctor hesitated. "This is going to hurt, Your Majesty."
"You are suddenly so formal!" Brinn wrinkled her nose at the doctor. "What happened to calling her Rory?"
"I had no idea who you were when I said that! I would never..." Rafa blanched.
"Brinn likes to tease. She is just trying to distract me from what you are about to do. Please proceed." Aurora winced as Devrim helped her to sit up.
Whatever the damage was, the Empress wanted to see it for herself. The cloth, straps, and wooden supports were slowly removed. Aurora gasped.
Her leg looked so shriveled. Not that she should have been surprised by that. Even sitting up had taken great effort. Aurora's muscles had all atrophied. Along the entire length of her shin, a long, violent gash was carefully stitched together.
The sight of it was ghastly. The edges had begun to grow back together, but a scar forever be a reminder of the terrible tumble she had taken into the abyss.
The sudden influx of air was what had made Aurora gasp. While bound, the injury had not caused her too much trouble, but without the cast to support her, the pain flooded through her.
"Lay down!" Devrim caught his wife and put her back on the pallet. "Do you have anything to give her for the pain?"
"Preferably something that won't make her bleed out," Brinn added.
"I am never going to live that one down, I know." Sav wiped her brow.
"Wait, she was serious?" Aurora's eyes opened wide as she tried, and failed to sit up again. Rafa handed her something to swallow and she reluctantly complied. "Did I hear you right? I nearly bled out?"
"It was back when you were first injured, and it was an accident," the Emperor tried to keep his wife calm. "It all turned out fine in the end."
"That seems like a pretty big deal. Is there anything else I should know about what happened while I was asleep?" The four occupants of the tent all looked at each other.
"Lover Boy raced through the desert with you in his arms and protected you from the Sand Wolves. He almost didn't make it but the serpent from the gorge attacked and decided feasting on the canines was tastier than human flesh.
"We barely made it to Secluse, where the doctor pulled a ton of rocks from your legs--ha! I just realized that you were basically part gnome for a bit!--and then after we realized you were planning to play Sleeping Royal for forever, we decided it was better to keep moving and not lose any more time.
"The trip has been steady but boring. You made the right choice to sleep it off. Your husband and the General were just out finding us a guide who can connect us with some boats and sailors. Did I miss anything?" Brinn bit her lip as she looked at Devrim.
"I wouldn't have probably given all of that information in one go," the Emperor admitted, "but I think that about covers it."
Closing her eyes, Aurora sighed, "And I thought my dreams were crazy..."
Sav knotted the last tie on Aurora's bandage and nodded to Rafa.
"I am happy to report that Her Majesty seems to be recovering quite well, all things considered. She should take it slow, but I do think that sitting up with support is reasonable." Rafa clasped his hands, delighted that he could finally give good news.
"What do you think, my dear? You feel up to sitting for a bit?" Devrim caressed his wife's cheek.
Now that the supports on her leg were replaced and new medicine applied to the wound, the pain had abated considerably. "If you would help me," Aurora looked helplessly between the Emperor and her friend.
They took the cue and went to work making her comfortable. The wagon was moved forward so the tent could be fully constructed.
"Aren't we in the middle of a road?" Aurora remembered the wagon had been moving when she had first woken.
"You think anyone is going to tell a bunch of military people to move? Ha!" Brinn laughed genuinely. "Let them try! We let them know who they are asking to move, and they will run for the hills."
"We are still outside the city limits. I do not think anyone will be bothered by us being here for a little while." Devrim added when his wife still looked worried. "Now, can you eat?"
Fresh food was brought and over the next little while Aurora ate a little bit by bit. Even though the Empress's stomach felt famished, Rafa advised her not to consume the meal too quickly. She had been only eating a little for weeks and her body would vomit if it suddenly got too much nutrition at once.
When she was finished, Aurora felt tired again. 'I have been sleeping too long. I will not succumb to it again just yet.'
"You went into the city on a mission?" the Empress vaguely recalled that was why Devrim had been gone.
"Nurlan and I rode ahead to find who knew the city well enough to guide us. I wouldn't have left if I had known you would wake up while I was away." The grey in the man's eyes deepened.
"Or maybe you should have left sooner if that was the cause." Brinn winked.
Devrim cut his eyes at the elf. She had been somber for so long, it was strange to suddenly have the elf back to her old self. "You really are in a mood. Are you making up for weeks of being mostly quiet?"
"Admit it, you missed this Brinn," the elf flashed a brilliant smile.
"I missed you both," Aurora sighed contentedly. "Whatever the cause, I am glad to be back. But back to my original query. Were you successful in finding a guide?"
"We did," Devrim nodded. "It was actually much easier than I anticipated. Instead of us finding him...he found us."
"Did he know you were coming?" Brinn wondered if the Emperor had one of his palace birds send a message at some point. Although she had never seen a bird while on their journey, he could have released a missive before leaving Valiant.
"No one was supposed to know we were coming. However since neither of us are residents of the city of Whitewater, we were not exactly familiar with the city layout. That was our first mistake. Our second, it seemed, was not asking for directions sooner..."
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット