To Catch a King

5.

Jask didn’t wake up for three days. Normally, this wouldn’t have bothered Andreas, but Blackfest was still going strong and Jask had gotten stabbed nearly an inch from her heart. He was really worried: worried about the duration of their mission and if she could bounce back from it, worried that she would die and leave him alone (a weird worry for him, since he wasn’t quite used to her yet), and worried because of how easy she seemed to fall.

Memories of that night had resurfaced. As if in slow motion, he could see the final attacker throwing that knife. He could see it sticking from Jask’s chest. He could see her crumpling to the ground bleeding and him getting to her just before her head reached the ground.

He felt guilty. Looking back, he could tell that he was so absorbed with getting information about the prince that he failed to help his teammate, the one person that could possibly help him find Victor. Andreas was a soldier. He was supposed to help his teammates, protect them, and all he did was stand there while she had a knife thrown at her chest.

Her own knife.

To get rid of his guilt, he walked around Daemis, listening to the people. Very few talked about the Prince, and thankfully there were no rumors that he was missing. Well, none that he had heard. When the people of Daemis realized that there was a Native in their midst, they grew wary and stared at him. The people had nothing to worry about. Andreas was weighed down with the guilt he felt, too exhausted from not sleeping to even give one of the haggard adults even a small glare.

When he wasn’t walking around Daemis all sullen and angry, Andreas was in his room at the inn that they had previously stayed in, mulling over the information given to him. From his various studies at the academy, he had learned that this world was round and that there were other countries rather than the Big Six, which is what Ferilis and four other countries on the continent were called.

He chose to focus on the Big Six, though. From the small library located on the outskirts of Daemis, he gathered maps of the five countries, quills, ink, and paper. First, he wrote down what he knew of the five countries, starting with their names: Ferilis, of course; Odalv, Soiera, Merias, Esgani, and Suecha. Each of these countries were known for something different, like cloth, dancing, and metals. He put them in a row, and wrote the names of their kings.

Andreas worked through the night and then spent the day sleeping. He woke up in the late day because of loud knocking on his door.

“Your friend’s awake!”

With this, he shot of bed, hurriedly put on his clothes, and opened the door wide, his haggard face scaring the messenger, a young boy of about thirteen. He grabbed the child, who looked frightened at the grown man who grabbed him.

“Take me to her,” he demanded.

Jask woke up in a soft bed. The first thing she noticed was that she smelled horrible, and the second was that her chest was bandaged. Neither of those she liked, the latter especially. That meant that she had gotten seriously injured, and by the slant of light coming from the window, she’d been out for at least a day. Or more. At that, she fought a shudder. And it was late day, as well.

She tried sitting up, winced, and whimpered. Yeah, she’d gotten badly hurt. She assessed herself and tried to remember what had happened. She got flashes of her and Andreas leaving Daemis and the relief that the both of them felt because of it. Then, the trio of men that had followed them out of the city. Jask felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she realized what happened.

There was a fight, of course. She knew that she and Andreas had fought valiantly, although she was obviously the target. Two of the men had gone after her. She remembered that Andreas had finished one of the men off before helping her out with the other men. Well, not really helping. Just standing and watching. She had taken care of one of the men and Andreas had thrown a knife into the side of the third and final attacker.

Then she remembered that one moment. She could see it in slow motion: with a sickening squelching sound, the third attacker had pulled the knife from his side and threw it at Jask. Andreas had gotten to the man too late and Jask could see the knife coming toward her, could feel it plunging into her chest.

For a moment, she had stared at it and could feel the blood pumping in her ears. She could hear Andreas nearly screaming at the attacker, his voice frantic for information. Her mind slowing down, Jask was somewhat thankful that Andreas wasn’t focused on her. It would have been awkward for her to actually have him near.

She remembered her eyesight blackening at the edges; she was starting to pass out. She didn’t pull out the knife; it would be worse if she did and she was hoping that Andreas—if he was going to save her—knew not to pull it out. Shortly after, probably not even ten seconds, the attacker had garbled something and died. She could hear Andreas running over, and she briefly wondered how she stood upright for so long. Before he could get to her, she fell to the ground and the last thing she had since was his terrified face.

The door to her room opening broke her from her reverie. A plump woman stood at the door, a washing rag in her hands along with a bar of soap.

“Oh heavens!” she said, dropping both to put her hands to her mouth. “You’re awake!”

Jask gave a weak smile and the woman tottered over. The woman quickly checked over Jask, her hands—though chubby—light and quick to check her bandages and the stitches that closed her chest.

The woman put her hand on Jask’s shoulder. The hand was a bit clammy, Jask noticed.

“Do you remember what happened?” the woman asked. Jask nodded and the woman set her hands on her hips. “That’s good then. Most people don’t. You had a near experience with death, my dear. Your husband came to me in the middle of the night and you had a knife sticking out of your chest, bleeding everywhere. It’s a miracle you survived. You Elite Soldiers sure are a hardy bunch.”

Jask frowned. Her husband? Wait—Andreas. That was their cover. She had forgotten that small fact.

“Oh, dear, you must be wondering where he is,” the woman tittered. “I’ll go send someone for him. Lewis!”

A young boy appeared seemingly out of nowhere. From what she could see, he was at the stage where he was starting to turn into a man. When he saw Jask awake, his eyes widened. He looked at the woman and Jask assumed that she was his mother. They had the same beady brown eyes.

“Go to the Leaning Carriage and give a message to—what’s your husband’s name, dear?”

“A—” she frowned even more. Her voice was huskier than usual. It was from not speaking and drinking (she knew this because her throat was dry) for however long she was unconscious. “His name is Andreas. Where are my clothes?” It had also come to her attention that, besides the cloth wrapped around her chest, she was quite nude.

“Hush now,” the woman said. She turned to the boy. “Go to the Leaning Carriage and tell Hubert that you need to speak to Andreas. He should give you his room number. If he doesn’t, tell him that he still owes me and this will get rid of his debt.”

The boy nodded and left, giving Jask one last glance. The woman closed the door after him and put her hands on her hips.

“Now. Let’s get you all washed up and dressed before your man comes.”

When Andreas arrived, Jask was washed and felt much more refreshed after getting food in her stomach and clothes on. The woman, named Aundie, had given her some old clothes and they hung on Jask like blankets. With her pin on, she felt much more comfortable and a little bit safer. Only a few days in and Jask felt lost without the thing.

When Andreas burst in, she could tell that he was worried. Not only did he look exhausted, his clothes were rumpled, his hair was barely contained in a ponytail, and his pin—usually so straight—was lopsided. When he saw her, he visibly relaxed. She patted the space beside him gesturing for him to sit. He came over and slumped onto the bed.

Earlier, Aundie had explained that Jask had been out for three days and that she shouldn’t have lived. The knife was so close to her heart that she had to be super careful when taking it out. And then, she had lost a lot of blood. Until Aundie was sure that Jask’s blood had replenished itself, she was to stay with her, no traveling at all.

Andreas surprised each other by hugging Jask. He was glad that she was awake. He could finally sleep, he could finally know that she was somewhat out of death’s way. On his way, the medic woman had stopped him and explained that Jask would have to stay much longer than they needed. And she had said that when they did go back to traveling, make sure to take plenty of rest breaks and watch out for Jask. For a while, until her stitches healed, she was still in trouble.

Andreas understood that. He was even glad for the advice. But there was one thing: she’d have to stay. He’d have to go without her and continue to worry. He’d have to send a message back to Lukas explaining what had happened and that they would be delayed in the search for the prince. There’d be some disappointment.

“Are you okay?” he asked, glad that they were alone. It would be awkward for the two of them to pretend that they were married in the presence of a medical professional.

Jask nodded. Since he was even closer, she could tell that he was exhausted. His eyes were glazed over and he had bags under them. His face was haggard and his normally thick hair looked thin and limp. When was the last time he had even slept? She asked him and he gave a tired smile.

“The night before we left. I was really worried about you,” he answered. His face turned red, like he didn’t expect to say the last part. Jask found it kind of cute.

She smiled. “Well, Aundie is coming back to give me some sleeping medicine. Since I’m better, want to sleep with me?” She knew it sounded rather weird, but it was okay. He would know what it meant, since neither of them were interested in each other. She didn’t want a sex life when on a mission, and she was sure that he didn’t either.

He smiled. “That would be nice.”

They talked to each other until Aundie came back in with a steaming mug of tea. For a moment, she had stood outside while the two talked; she thought that they were perfect other. It was obvious from his frequent visits throughout the three days that he liked her, but the two were already married, so that made her happy.

Andreas fell asleep first.

When they woke up the next day, Jask felt much better. After eating, Andreas took her to the room he had gotten at the Leaning Cradle. There, she realized that he hadn’t forgotten their things and her clothes were still packed.

“I went back and got them after Aundie had you settled in,” he said. Jask nodded and Andreas turned so that she could change out of the clothes that Aundie had given her. She felt much more comfortable in trousers and shirt than she ever did in that dress Aundie had her wear.

When both searched through their bags, they were glad to see that all of their food didn’t spoil—there was some that had to be thrown away, though—and that they still had their weapons. After securing everything, Jask urged Andreas to go pay Aundie for everything she had done while she got ready to leave. It would still be a while before her stitches could come out, but she knew how to take care of herself after getting the stitches sewn in; her father had taught her to be as independent as possible, and that included all of her medical needs.

When Andreas returned, Jask was ready to leave. She had gotten water and whatever supplies that they needed, since the market was nearby. Though she knew that Andreas and Aundie didn’t want her traveling, she was ready to leave Daemis. Though every other place that she was traveling to was going to be unfamiliar, she didn’t want to stay here because of the unfamiliar people.

By the time they were ready to leave, it was late day.