Eridan had made his way out of the castle just in time to see Gamzee throw the Tyrian coated body over the garden wall that lined the cliff the castle was on and he tensed. Before he could call out to Gamzee, the purple blood was gone and Eridan ran to the wall, looking over it. Pulling himself up on it, he hesitated for only a moment before he dived into the water.

Panic flooded him as his head went under the water and he desperately tried to find the surface. The moment his head was free he began to cough, and tried to close his gills as Feferi had showed him. Several tries later he managed and he began to look around himself, trying to find Feferi. Finally he found her and hooked an arm around her sure-to-be-sore waist, pulling her to and onto shore.

The nurse had followed Eridan out, and had seen everything. She made her way down to the beach to meet him when he dragged Feferi from the water. "N0 need t0 explain, I kn0w. Need any help carrying her?" Eridan shook his head, coughing. Once he gained his footing, he shifted her as gently as he could, carrying her bridal style back up to the castle, the nurse a few steps behind her.

"I was afraid 0f this happening. I was actually 0n my way t0 check 0n him when all this happened. My 0ffice." She said, turning the corner as she took lead.

"Wwe told him Nep wwas missing. Fef found some letters she wwrote to Gam and wwent to go find him. I couldn't get to her before he wwas throwwing her ovver the castle wwall." Eridan said, following her as he looked down at Feferi. The nurse paled a bit as she nodded.

"I heard ab0ut that. A search party has been dispatched and n0 luck yet." She unlocked the infirmary and nodded for him to enter first. Eridan couldn't help but feel surprised about the search party.

"Wwho dispatched them?" He asked, stepping in and laying Feferi on the bed that he saw her in far more than he liked.

"Either the queen 0r kind, I'm n0t sure." She wasted no more time before checking Feferi's vitals, her pulse, her breathing. "She's alive, barely th0ugh, but she's in g00d hands n0w." She turned to Eridan, scissors in her hands. "G0ing t0 need y0u t0 absc0nd f0r a bit, n0t pr0per f0r y0u t0 see her nude." She said opening and closing the scissors. He turned before she could see much of his royal blood flooding to his cheeks and he made his way quickly from the room.

She laughed, having seen most of the blush anyway. Then she turned her attention to Feferi. "Y0u're very lucky miss Peixes, t0 have Amp0ra l00king after y0u. He can be infuriating at times, but he has a big heart."

The nurse tucked a blanket around the cleaned up troll, Eridan in the room once again. "A c0ncussi0n, br0ken n0se, tw0 br0ken ribs, 0ne that was previ0usly cracked, three m0re cracked, and bruises as far as the eye can see. Thankfully he f0cused 0n her upper b0dy s0 she will still be able t0 walk. But g0g kn0ws h0w much pain she will be in when she waked. She turned to face the pale prince. "Hey, she'll be fine." She said, patting his shoulder.

He nodded, and then shifted his gaze to his hands. "All this… I couldn't savve her this time either…" he whispered. The nurse gave him a sympathetic look.

"You did th0ugh. Maybe n0t fr0m Gamzee's fun, but y0u pulled her 0ut 0f the sea. She c0uldn't have swam by herself, given that she was 0ut c0ld. Had y0u n0t been there, she c0uld have bled to death, or dr0wned. Y0u have t0 give y0urself that credit."

Eridan gave a nod, but couldn't find himself able to believe a word of what she said. He shouldn't have lost sight of her. If he had been with her, maybe he would be the one in the bed this time, not her. If he had stepped in at the market, she wouldn't have been in the bed in the first place. A soft sigh passed his lips as he kept his head down.

"From the wway Gam has been acting… his… his plants ran dry again, didn't they?" He had seen Gamzee after Karkat had been sentenced to death. After he had calmed down from his blood rant he had all but drowned himself in his slime, and it hadn't been long before they dried up.

The nurse nodded. "it's the 0nly l0gical explanati0n. They should be replenished n0w th0ugh, s0 he'll calm d0wn 0nce he has a batch." She turned and made her way for her office, stopping to look back at him. "Y0u l0ve her." She said. It wasn't a question. He opened his mouth to respond to the first statement, but the second one stopped him. He was silent for a long moment, then he nodded.

"I… I believve I do."

She nodded again. "Y0u c0uld use a girl like her. She l0ves y0u t00, s0 take care 0f her. Y0u d0n't run int0 t00 many girls like her." With that she closed the door to her office, leaving Eridan alone with Feferi. She was stiff out cold, sleeping while quiet pained groans occasionally escaped her. Eridan moved closer to her, looking down at her hand before he sighed, reaching out to take it.

"I wwish I could protect you." He whispered.

"Then vwhy don't you?" A gruff voice asked behind Eridan, causing his to tense and hesitate before he looked back at the speaker.

"I'm…" He dropped his gaze. "I'm trying…"

The man stepped forward, a permanent sneer on his face. "Got something on your shoes boy?" He growled. Eridan winced, forcing himself to look up at the male.

"No sir." He said, paying careful attention to his breathing. Duel Scar scoffed, taking a hold of Eridan's scarf. "vwhy are you soaking vwet boy?"

"Gam… Gam threww Fef into the ocean." He said. "I wwent in after her… to savve her…"

His eyebrows raised. "You? Dovve into the vwater? About time you got ovver that stupid fear." He muttered, pushing the smaller troll out of the way. "Vwhy don't you go change? I'll keep an eye on it." He said, looking to the sleeping female. Eridan's hands balled into fists at his sides.

"She's not an 'it'." He said, trying to ignore the shaking in his knees. "Her name is Feferi." Duel Scar waved a dismissive hand, not looking back at his son.

"She's from our rival kingdom. It, her, same thing vwhen you're from that place. Go change, you're dripping all over the floor."

Eridan opened his mouth to make another comment, but found that it would just be in vain. He turned, making his way from the room and to his own, changing into a simple black button down shirt and slacks. He looked at the scarf that Feferi had given him, hanging in on a coat rack so it would dry. Carefully he pulled his old one from Grumpy Gills. Once it was in place he made his way back to the infirmary.

The king had seated himself in a chair near Feferi's bed, smoking a pipe. He looked to the door as Eridan entered and blew some smoke in his direction. "She moans like the little bitch she is, so I silenced her once or tvwice." He looked down at the now silent troll. "I'd imagine she'd be a bit easier to look at, evven if she is the hairbitch's spavwn." She took in a long drag, then blew the smoke in her face. "Didn't put up much fight, did she? Should havve knovwn better than to pick a fight vwith Gamzee."

Everyone had their limit, and even though the man terrified him, Eridan had reached his. "Shut up!" He snapped, moving between Duel Scar and Feferi's bed. "I'll bet she put up more of a fight than you wwould havve managed!" The man just looked up at him.

"You think so? Havve you forgotten my room looks ovver the garden? I savw evverything, she didn't lift a finger to protect herself." He took a drag from his pipe. "Gamzee brought up some good points. She relied on the hemospectrum just like her mother. Vwants lovwbloods to do her dirty vwork."

"You don't knoww a thing about her, don't act like you do." Eridan said through a clenched jaw. "She shielded a rust blood wwith her owwn body not two wweeks ago and ended up in this vvery bed. That's not making lowwbloods do her wwork.

"Vwhat an angel, my heart is bleeding." He replied in a deadpan voice. "Still got that stutter I hear. And that scarf. Ashamed are vwe? Don't vwant the public to knovw you couldn't defend yourself?"

Eridan felt himself pale and his fists tightened. "If you hadn't sent Kar to die, it wwouldn't havve happened." He said. "The Condesce isn't the only one wwho follows the spectrum. You're no better than she is."

"Spectrum or no spectrum, he vwas a mutant. He shouldn't havve been allovwed to livve past vwriggling, nor his father. A pity good talent vwas vwasted on their blood." He commented, taking a drag before he started to stare off into space, intending to ignore anything else the other had to say.

"You're the waste of blood here." Eridan said, focusing as hard as he could on his words to prevent his stuttering the best he could.

Duel Scar dropped his pipe and stood, slamming his foot down to shatter the item, keeping eye contact with his son. When at full height Eridan only came up to his shoulders. "Vwould you like to repeat that boy?" He growled.

The shaking in Eridan's legs retuned when his father stood but he kept eye contact with him nonetheless. "I said you're the wwaste of blood, if wwe're comparing wworth." The trembling of his legs prevented him from stopping the stuffer this time.

"Vwweh, vwweh." He mocked his son's stutter. "I'vve got nevwws for you, you're not vwworth your blood color. You're vwworth shit!" He snapped. At this point, Feferi was stirring from her sleep, the pain kicking in so she was writing and whimpering. She was surprisingly coherent.

"-E-Eridan?" She choked out. Eridan had been glaring at the older male, but flinched at Feferi's voice. He looked back at her, concern instantly filling his eyes.

"Fef… Howw are you feeling?" He asked, moving to her side. She could only shake her head, the small movement causing more pain than she thought it would.

"Mmnn…" She whimpered, shutting her eyes tightly. Dualscar made a disgusted expression.

"Go back to sleep you. No one vwwants to hear hose pathetic noises." He growled.

Eridan glared back at him, gritting his teeth. "Howw about you g pick a fight wwith Gam. Let's see wwhat sounds you make after!"

He snickered. "Ha! Unlike you lot, I can hold my ovwwn in a fight."

"You'vve nevver gone up against Gam." He said. "I'd like to see you after he's through wwith you." He added, trying to force anger into his voice. It wasn't working all that well. Dualscar nodded.

"True, but I've gone against his mother. Havve you forgotten?" He swiped his hand over his face, ghosting over the two jagged scars trailed across his nose. "Unlike you, I don't hide behind scarves. So vwwhy do you?" He asked, tugging on Eridan's scarf again. He cringed at that, backing down from the fight as he lowered his gaze in submission.

"I…" He didn't have anything else. "I'm ashamed…" He admitted softly. Dualscar nodded.

"So am I boy," He pushed Eridan back so the shorter male had to catch himself on the side of Feferi's bed. "That I havve to call you my son." With that, he slipped out the door.

The Highblood had taken residence outside of the office and looked to duel scar as he exited the office. "She's cute at least." She mused. "Cuter than Gamzee's toy any way."

"I havve to disagree vwith you, at least for novw while she," he jerked his thumb at the door. "-looks like that. I find the kitten to be easier to look at. It's a shame for someone on the lovwer side of the spectrum to be that pretty." He commented, walking over to place his hands on the wall on either side of the Grand Highblood's head.

"She's more timid than even your son." She replied, cocking an eyebrow. "I don't see how she'll hold her own against mine." She mused. He hand moved up, sharpened nails trailing long his scars. "It'd be a shame for that face of hers to earn a few of these. Her face really is all she has going for her for being so close to having lime blood."

"Yes," He said, closing his eyes and leaning into her touch. "If she uses her looks to an advvantage though, one could forgive her color." Her hand slid down his cheek to his neck, pressing a little harder to cause a light mark.

"What a shame it would be for something to happen to her." She repreated, mischief glinting in her eyes. A growl could be heard from the back of Duel scar's throat.

"Yes. Vvery much a shame." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist. She pressed herself against him.

"Maybe I'll pay her a visit before we leave." She suggested in an almost bored tone, scratching a darker line under the first. He snickered, running a hand through her mess of hair, tugging her head back hard so he could attack her neck with bites.

"Don't kill the poor think, I knovw you too vwell. You vwould." He muttered against her neck as he continued to bruise her neck. The Highblood's back arched against him, an almost purr of pleasure escaping her lips.

"I'll leave her death to my son. It would be fun to kill her and watch him fall apart once again, though." She added, dragging her nails down his neck to cause a groan. His teeth traveled down to her chest where he bit hard enough for a small trickle of purple blood to escape.

"You sick woman."

She moved her hand to his chin, pulling his head up to hers. "You wouldn't have me any other way." She replied, running her tongue along his lower lip to clean her blood from it.