Told you I'd try and update tonight. ^^ I'll hopefully have another chapter up tomorrow, too.
Sorry it's a little short.
Soren slowly opened his eyes. The harsh daylight had faded into dusk, but the air remained uncomfortably warm. A hot stink of unfamiliar pain throbbed at his side.
"What in Ashera's name were you trying to do?!" Ike sounded furious.
Soren glared at him. "I was trying to fill the hole in our defences before anyone got hurt."
"You didn't do such a great job, did you? Rhys spent all afternoon trying to get that arrow out." Soren glanced down at his bloodied tunic. There were still small splinters embedded in his side.
"I told him I could treat it myself. I assure you that the drain on his time was entirely voluntary on his part and involuntary on mine."
"That's not the point!" Ike leaned his palms on the mattress for support. "You were told to stay on the back line! Soren, you're a mage. You're too fragile to allow the enemy unnecessary chances to attack. You could have DIED."
Hearing Ike's sigh of exasperation, Soren frowned. "If I hadn't taken out that general, a lot more of our fighters might have died. Your sister, for one."
Ike looked at him. "She was behind Tauroneo. The general wouldn't have been able to touch her."
"Tauroneo moved," Soren replied. "He left the back lines open and vulnerable. I moved forward as a shield, commander. I'll recover from this wound. I doubt the others would have survived getting a lance thrust through them."
"You deliberately disobeyed orders."
"Because someone else had already done so!" Soren snapped. He turned away angrily, his arms folded tightly against his chest. "I made the best of a bad situation, and I will not apologise."
There was silence as Ike sat himself down on the edge of the mattress. "I didn't ask you to, Soren." An extended length of silence. "D'you remember when you first came here, I said I needed to be able to trust you?" Soren nodded mutely. "I'd like to think we've come that far. I trust that you were doing what you thought was best, and if you stopped Mist getting hurt then you have my thanks."
Soren glanced away. This talk of trust was all well and good, but he had heard the 'if' slipped into that sentence.
"But you need to be more responsive towards orders. Once you recover fully, and you're in battle again - stay by my side, OK? I need to know you aren't trying to get yourself killed."
Soren waited until Ike had stood up before he let a small sigh escape. All the amiable words from before meant nothing. The commander expected him to stay safe and sound behind him while the others risked their lives on the front line. Like some stray dog stripped of its freedom and tied on a leash. His fingers pulled on the blanket in front of him, covering the bloodstained sheets. This wasn't how he had expected this to turn out. He closed his eyes and let a fitful sleep overcome him.
