A Beast's Tale: Act 2 (His Princess)

Three days. Three long days.

It was nothing short of a miracle that Ivetta had survived. I’d lost count of how many stitches the doctor put into her, and once he’d staunched the bleeding, he still had to bandage her broken bones. The battle—or rather, massacre—had run its course before he finished. Once stabilized, we moved her to the former Baron Flandre’s estate for further care. She had lain in the master bedroom for three days now with no signs of awakening. The doctor evicted me from the room when she needed personal attention, but otherwise, I refused to leave her side.

Those few minutes I spent outside her door provided convenient opportunities for me to review reports and deliver orders, though. Clavis had remained in contact as he reestablished Rhodolitian control of the fort and meted out punishment for the few surviving enemy soldiers. The boy who’d distracted the guards long enough for me to slip inside the fort had then warned the rest of the men stationed outside it, and most of the drafted commoners fled before the army arrived. Clavis collected the names of those who’d stayed and sent them home. If they ever raised weapons against Rhodolite again, they would face severe consequences. This was their only chance. Even he wouldn’t show them mercy a second time.

As for the Obsidianite soldiers, Clavis handed them over to Gilbert. The greatest mercy they could hope to receive was a swift execution.

“Oh, good, I caught you at the right time. How is she? Is she awake yet?”

Clavis strolled down the hall with a bounce in his step and a grin on his face. A recent bath and a change of clean clothing had restored my younger brother’s typical appearance of a gentleman. Pomade held every strand of his thick midnight-blue hair in place; polished gold buttons and clasps decorated his crisp white, violet, and blue outfit. The bloodstained beast wreaking havoc on the battlefield was nowhere to be seen.

“Report.”

“I’ll take that as a no. Well, we have one large problem, or maybe several small ones. Those boys. Our little friend Jonny sent for the rest of his troop, and now, Obsidianite adolescents who fancy themselves soldiers have overrun the fort. I should ship them off to the refugee orphanage in my territory, but they don’t want to be treated as children. They want to join the Rhodolitian army, never mind that they hail from an enemy nation and are too young to enlist.”

“Send them to the training academy.”

His golden eyes widened by a fraction of an inch. “So, we’re just ignoring the laws about border security and refugees, along with a host of army regulations?”

“They’ll be ineligible for combat until the usual age.”

His grin widened. “Why, Chev, that’s both generous and villainous. I never thought I’d see the day. Am I rubbing off on you, or—nope, no pigs flying yet. Not past this window, anyway. Ha ha! Well, I’ll go break the news to the little ragamuffins, and I’ll leave you with this gift from home. Enjoy!”

Most would have thought his laughter was real, but I knew better. He’d learned long ago to paint a smile over his troubles, and he was doing just that, along with throwing himself into his work. There was nothing to gain from moping.

That was the reason I sat at the writing desk in the master bedroom for most of each day, poring over missives forwarded from the palace. I took short breaks to dribble water from a wet cloth into Ivetta’s mouth, and when I completed my paperwork, I took up residence on the sofa and read whatever book I pulled at random from Flandre’s shelves. The subject mattered little. It filled the space until night fell and the doctor completed his final examination of Ivetta. After he left, I put the book away and sat by her side. I’d done this every night since rescuing her from that dungeon.

She looked peaceful, at least. Swelling distorted her face beyond recognition, but her distinctive silky black hair spread across the pillow, and I knew her vivid green irises hid behind her eyelids. I kissed her forehead, told her I loved her, and returned to the sofa for another restless night. Perhaps tomorrow.

“Well, look who’s finally awake.”

My feet hit the floor before I opened my eyes. Ivetta’s cry of pain dispelled the fog of sleep. She was sitting upright, struggling with all her feeble might against the doctor as he pushed her down onto the mattress. He was being gentle with her and speaking in a soft, soothing tone, but he was a stranger to her. In her panic, I doubted she could even hear a word he said.

“Ivetta.”

But she knew my voice, and her response to it was immediate. She stopped fighting. She was panting for breath, her beautiful, frightened green eyes locked on mine, and I sat next to her, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear.

“This is the doctor, Ivetta. You’re safe.”

When he touched her arm again, she flinched. Her eyes darted toward him. I rested my hand on hers and leaned toward her, ensuring her eyes stayed on me.

“You’re safe, little dove.”

“Sorry. I know my face isn’t the nicest thing to wake up to. I’m Milburn Adams. You can call me Doc, Doctor, Adams, whatever you want. Don’t mind me. I’m just changing your bandages.” His smile deepened the wrinkles on his face. He touched her arm again, and this time she didn’t flinch. “You’ve been through quite an ordeal, Miss Ivetta. I’ll have to insist that you stay in bed and rest until you’re fully recovered. I set all your broken bones as well as I could, but it’s best if you stay still so they can heal properly.”

He continued speaking to her, glossing over the severity of her injuries, and I watched the fear fade from her eyes. She didn’t need to know any of the details. Keeping her calm was of primary importance. I kept my hand on hers, careful to apply little pressure, and her eyelids fluttered closed. The doctor finished unwinding the bandages covering her other arm and examined the rows of sutures scattered across the length of it. Once satisfied, he replaced the dirty bandages with thick layers of clean ones. Her external wounds needed too much attention for casting to be practical.

“There, that’ll do for now. I think a dose of pain medicine is in order before I continue. How are you feeling otherwise? Hot, cold, hungry, thirsty?”

She opened her eyes and glanced at me before looking at him. “I just hurt.” Her voice was rough from disuse, and for her to make such an admission, she had to be in excruciating pain. It still gladdened my heart to hear her speak.

“Well, we can take care of that. When you’re feeling better, maybe you can set my mind at ease and eat something. I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you. And… sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. Prince Chevalier, make sure she stays put. This one’s feisty.”

He winked and went into the bathroom, where he kept his medical supplies. I heard water running. Ivetta’s eyes returned to me, and the words I’d prepared vanished from my tongue. It was such a relief to see her awake and responsive.

“Thank you, Prince Chevalier. I knew you’d come for me.”

“Nothing could have kept me away.”

Reading her expression was difficult given the distortion of her facial features, but the slight upward curve of her split lip and her averted gaze told me she felt shy. I couldn’t resist teasing her.

“I suppose I’ll have to deduct this from your pay.”

Her eyes snapped back to mine. Her lips parted. “But—I already quit!”

I felt a smile tugging at my lips. “Then I’ll have to arrange an alternate form of payment.”

“Prince Chevalier, you aren’t upsetting my patient, are you? Just say the word, Miss Ivetta, and I’ll order him to leave.” The doctor set a glass of water and a few pills on the nightstand and crossed his arms over his chest, giving me a stern glare. His mustache twitched.

“Oh, no, he can stay. It’s fine. He isn’t upsetting me.”

“Glad to hear that, because this will be easier with his help. I need you to sit up and drink a little water. If you can drink the whole glass, even better. I’m afraid this will hurt, but only for a moment. Are you ready?”

All traces of her smile vanished. She glanced at me, anxiety tightening her facial muscles. I scooted toward her and kissed her on the forehead.

“I’ll be right here, Ivetta.”

Her eyes flew as wide open as the bruising allowed, all nervousness forgotten at my surprise kiss. I slipped an arm under her shoulders. She swallowed and looked at the doctor, then nodded. Her body tensed the moment I began to lift her. She gasped and squeezed her eyes shut.

“That should be enough. Hold her steady there, Prince Chevalier. Now, when you’re ready, Miss Ivetta, open up.”

Her chest heaved a few agonized breaths before she opened her mouth wide enough for him to set the pills on her tongue. He held the glass to her lips, and after she drank it all, he wiped her chin. She kept her eyes closed for the entire ordeal. I suspected embarrassment at her dependency was more to blame for that than her pain. At a nod from the doctor, I lowered her onto the bed and kissed her cheek.

“You’ll feel better soon, Ivetta.”

“It’ll take about an hour to reach full effect, but the time will fly by if you go back to sleep.” He kept his voice cheerful for her benefit, but he raised a bushy eyebrow over the rim of his spectacles at me, lying next to her side. “I’ll give you two a few minutes. If he gives you any trouble, Miss Ivetta, let me know. I’ll take care of him.”

She couldn’t even crack a smile at that. There was nothing I could do but wait until she recovered her breath. Her broken ribs weren’t making that easy for her.

“I’m sorry, Ivetta. I shouldn’t have allowed this to happen.”

She gave a slight shake of her head. “Not… your fault.”

“I left you alone.”

She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at me. “You only did… what I asked, and you’re… with me now.” She paused. Her eyes widened somewhat. “You… stayed with me.”

“You asked me to stay.” Or rather, begged me, but I had no intention of leaving her after finding her in such critical condition.

“How long was I… asleep?”

“Three days. There are better ways to get your rest, little dove.”

Her eyes slipped away from mine. Were it not for the bruises, I knew a rosy blush would have colored her cheeks. I wanted her to snap back at my tease, but she lacked the strength.

“What about… your work?” She lifted her eyes to mine. “If you need to go…”

“I don’t, and we’ve had this discussion before. I can manage you and my duties without difficulty.”

She nodded and sighed. Her eyelids closed. “I’m sorry, but I’m still tired. Could we… talk more later?”

“Of course.” I kissed her cheek. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“And maybe you can tell me… why…”

Her breathing eased further as she fell asleep. I lay next to her, watching the grimace of pain leave her face, repeating her last mumbled words in my head. She didn’t know. He hadn’t told her. He’d abducted her, beaten her within an inch of her life, cut her to shreds, and he hadn’t even told her the reason for his malice.

The door opened. I kissed her one more time and slid my arm out from under her, tucking the blankets up to her chin before turning to face the doctor. The grim set of his jaw told me what he would say before he spoke.

“Prince Gilbert wants to see you.”

I retrieved my clothes from the sofa and went into the bathroom to change. For three days, I’d stayed here with Ivetta, and Gilbert had handled her torturer’s punishment. It had been long enough. I wanted his assurance that the man was dead.