Interlude: The Uses of an Infirmary's Bed

Waking up was something that Lance never really looked forward to. Sleeping was far too comfortable for him to enjoy being forced out of it in any way. But he found that sitting up in the Castle Infirmary was far and away a different experience than waking up anywhere else. The big deal was that he was alive, which had apparently been a touch and go statement a few weeks previous. Now he was mostly bored, if still fairly glad he'd lived through the experience.

He'd done his job, after all. Princess Nina was in sound health, though no one other than the King, Queen, Prince, the Princess's new maid and the Princess's new Guard had seen her since the return to the Castle. Or so he heard anyway. He wasn't allowed to leave the Infirmary yet. It had finally been long enough that he was getting a little antsy sitting in bed all day… but he often had visitors.

The first visitor of the day had been and likely would always be the King. The people in the Infirmary knew he was coming because all of the medical staff returned to the Infirmary bedroom at once to make sure anyone who they didn't want rising didn't stand up and bow to their liege. It was a little embarrassing that they had to do that, but Lance realized the first time that he came in, despite being barely able to move himself, all his instincts screamed for him to rise and then kneel.

He was apparently well enough now that he was allowed to rise and kneel to his King when he entered the Infirmary to visit all those in the Castle that were required to remain there. "Rise, Agent," he heard the King say, "and return to bed. I hear that you'll be released at the end of the day if you behave yourself."

Lance rose. "I guess that means that I'll be out in the next few weeks, Your Majesty."

The King chuckled. "Indeed. Try to keep it as short as possible. Having one of the Agents that saved the Princess confined here is an incredibly inefficient use of his resources, don't you think?"

Lance bowed his head slightly. "Yes, Your Highness."

Most of the days began something like that, though this was only the fourth day that he was allowed to stand up. He was supposed to go out and walk around (with an escort) twice a day now, and he had also heard the same rumor that the King had. If he checked out, he could be released that very day. He was excited.

The second visitor of the day was about as reliable as the first, and while Lance never begrudged the company of his King, he found that he was far more comfortable with his longtime partner. "Aren't you giving up valuable training time to be in here with me?" Lance asked as James walked up to him.

"Not really," he replied. "It's not like my training is nearly as effective if you're not there, after all. And the young'ins aren't out there with me until the afternoon, so I'm not missing training anyone else, either."

"Sounds boring."

"Hence, I hang out in the Infirmary," James concluded mildly.

"Well…" Lance drew out, "I guess you can come by in that case."

Another conversation that happened nearly identically every day. It was soothing, really. After some amount of weeks that all ran together of uncertainty and frantic worry about the Princess and his charge, a few weeks of things that he could count on like clockwork was good for his psyche. That's what he told himself, anyway. Being more and more bored as the days dragged on wasn't helping, but the possibility that his limitations would be lifted had allowed the return of his good spirits. James, of course, didn't comment on it. Just a small smile that could only be seen if you were looking for it.

It was after this point that the day would get slightly less predictable, but only just. James left to do his own solo training before teaching the little ones and apparently spar the new Ascent Trinil with a staff. Lance was given a chance to go on a short walkabout, then was returned to his bed to be fed lunch. Afterward came the dragonboy. "Still not out yet?" the teen asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Nope. Not sure how they've kept me chained here so long. Maybe tonight, though."

"So you say every day. What makes today different?"

Lance drew a breath and smiled. "The King said so."

Ryu's eyebrows rose. "Really, now?" He looked impressed, even. "That would make me believe it too. So I guess that means you'll be out in the training yard tomorrow."

"You bet, and kicking your tush all across the grass."

Ryu rolled his eyes and stood up. "We'll see. It'll be good to have you back, though. It's far too quiet out there when you're not yelling at someone."

Lance grinned at the boy. "Of course; someone always deserves to be yelled at, after all." Ryu left chuckling. Lance noticed the other Ascent that had arrived with Ryu when he had come to the Castle more than three years prior. She was leaning against the doorframe of the Infirmary, watching Ryu approach her. She was a bit of an enigma to Lance, but she and Ryu didn't really separate without need. Perhaps he would have the opportunity to learn more about her later. She left with Ryu, but not before tossing another glance at the tenant her friend had come to visit.

As the sun began to fall quickly through the sky, Lance was given another opportunity to go walking (with an escort, of course). This time he even got to walk around the training yard where he saw Ryu and that girl sparring in addition to James giving lessons in basic swordplay to the young nobles at the Castle. Other instructors and other pupils were scattered around the yard, though none others that were good friends of Lance. He managed, albeit barely, to not call out pointers in the fast moving Ascent form match between Ryu and the wolf. He figured he'd be able to do it without chancing his release when he was out training himself. He didn't like the look in his escort nurse's eyes, anyway.

Next on the menu was more bedrest through the late afternoon followed by dinner and bed. On days where James knew of something that might prevent his visit the following day, he would come again, but that wasn't true on this day. The late afternoon was without visitors… until the most surprising visitor of the day came to see him.

The warning that the Infirmary had of the visitor was the quiet that descended on the hallway outside. The hallway where the Infirmary was located was a main thoroughfare in the Castle and was constantly in use by the various servants and even had nobles strolling through at nearly all times. There was no time that the hallway was completely quiet, and yet silence fell outside the door. The nurses on duty noticed about when Lance did, and even the other tenants in the Infirmary were craning their necks from whatever position they were limited to in order to see what was going on outside the door.

Two guards stepped crisply into the room to frame the door while two more entered and went directly toward Lance's bed. One lifted the sheets to determine that there was nothing but more sheets underneath and the other checked the headboard for… weapons? Probably. Lance noticed the markings on the guards' chests and his eyebrows rose. He was getting a visit from the Princess?

Sure enough, next through the door was Leah, followed quickly by the Princess of Wyndia, who caused the entire Infirmary to bow slightly in unison before the nurses continued on their tasks. The other tenants, with nothing else to do, naturally continued to stare at the royal visitor in their midst. Nina walked slowly but with purpose as she came to the side of Lance's bed. Leah came with her, smiling. Nina was not.

"Princess," Lance said, bowing his head slightly, though he was quashing a primal need to bow further, "I am quite honored by your presence."

Nina's eyes were downcast, through Lance knew that she could see that he had given her her due. Leah spoke quietly in her stead. "She wanted to come earlier, but couldn't make herself."

Lance nodded. "It's understandable," he said to Leah, though then he turned his attention back to the Princess. "You went through a lot on that trip, Princess. And you weren't really allowed the opportunity to grieve. It's natural that you would take the opportunity when you actually had it."

"I should have come to see you." Her words were so quiet as to be barely audible, but they were somehow firm nonetheless.

Lance shrugged. "I did my job and lived to do it again someday. You, my liege, owe me nothing more than mild gratitude for a job well done. What I did, what James and Leah and even Ryu did while we were out there, none of it was beyond the call of our duty as Agents; the elite of the Knights that serve Wyndia. I'm alright. I'm not in the least bit bothered that you needed to spend time honoring those who fell to keep you safe."

Nina's gaze shot up to each of the guards in her field of vision momentarily before returning to the floor. "I'm still not comfortable with them. They could die again. Just like last time."

"We're putting them through the ringer," Leah said. "Your Guard is having the best training possible and is made up of only the best recruits to the Knights we have. There are even four future Agents among them. We also will never be placing you in the same kind of situation that you were in that required such a cost to keep you safe again."

"For killing your Guard, Tantar has given up the moral high ground in the diplomatic relationships on the continent," Lance added. "Even Auria is aghast at their actions and has placed more military strength at the cave that separates the two countries."

"I'm…" Nina whispered, "I'm just…"

"It's not really something we're expecting you to ever be comfortable with," Leah said. "Having someone throw themselves in front of you to keep you safe… to die to keep you safe… those are things that hand over a great deal of responsibility. You can feel that, which is a good thing. But you also have to remember that you need to move on. You need to keep yourself active and well. Train so that you can protect yourself in struggles better. Learn so that you can run the country when your parents are gone. Make your life mean something, and you can say that the Princess Guard that protected you in Tuntar did not give itself in vain."

"And we already know it didn't," Lance added. "You're a strong Ascent, and I watched your combat skills increase throughout our trip together. Be the best Princess you can be, and the Princess Guard will feel, wherever they are, that you were worth the cost."

"But I wasn't!" Nina shouted, her eyes now blazing and filling with tears. "I'm not worth so many lives!"

"Are you not?" Lance asked her mildly.

"No! My life is not worth forty others! Or more! I'm not worth making Agent Leah break down because of the loss of her entire unit!" Nina was studiously attempting to not look at Leah as she said this.

"What would happen, Princess, if you died?" Leah asked softly, causing the Princess's head to whip around. One of the threatening tears spilled over onto her cheek, but she paid it no mind.

When she hadn't answered for a while, Lance did. "The country would go into mourning. The Royal Family would wear black for six months. The common people's morale would plummet. Prince Kenneth-"

"Stop," Leah admonished him quietly. Nina was looking down at the ground again.

"Wyndia needs you," Lance continued after a short pause. "You are necessary for the continued flourishing of this country. That starts with getting out of your room. Aha! Step one: check."

Nina sniffed and rubbed at her eyes.

"You will be fine. I think you need to stretch your wings a bit; is it true that you haven't been out of your room since I got locked up in here?"

Nina nodded slowly, shamefully.

Lance smiled at her. "Then how about we both consider tomorrow our day of release? You have mourned the loss of those who fought for you, and you have thanked me for my participation. I imagine you've thanked Leah every day these past weeks for hers. Make sure you talk to James. Make sure you talk to Ryu. I bet they'll both help you too. But tomorrow, you smile and get back to your routine. Just like I will." He turned to the nurse standing by making sure that he didn't overdo himself during the visit. "Right?"

"If you check out after dinner, Agent, then yes."

Lance gave a sigh. "Still no straight answer." For an instant, there was a hint of a smile on the Princess's face. "That's our Princess."

Nina suddenly closed the distance between them and threw her arms around Lance. "Thank you," she said into his shirt. Then she straightened and stood slightly taller. "Let's go for a walk around the Castle and see if we can't find James, Trinil and Ryu."

Lance snapped. "I knew there was someone I forgot!" He was rewarded with a momentary smile again, though Leah rewarded him with a larger and longer one than the Princess's.

With that, the Princess and Leah left, along with the Princess Guard, which was finally given the opportunity to practice its craft since Nina was in the public areas of the Castle. And she would be alright. Just like Leah was alright and working hard again. Just like Lance would be alright… he scowled. "I'd better check out tonight."