A/N: What do I feel like doing after packing all day? Writing this chapter… haha. The idea of what to write about struck me this afternoon and I just had to write it when I had the chance.
Larissa could tell something was off as soon as she returned from her trip away from the Unseelie. One of the scouts that she often worked with was waiting for her once she neared the busier part of the Court, and she slowed her horse, meeting his gaze.
"What is it?" she asked, feeling a little on edge. Usually, she was left alone when she returned, as she liked to seek out Caspian and Kane, before she cleaned herself up from her travels.
"It's Caspian," the scout replied, and he couldn't meet her gaze. "He's at the medics tent. I'll take your horse."
What seemed like a hundred questions came to mind, and she had to force herself to keep quiet, knowing it was better to go and see for herself, rather than to pester him for all the details. She merely nodded, dismounting swiftly, her expression growing carefully guarded. Leaving her horse with him, she walked briskly towards the medics tent. Had he had a training accident? Or been involved in a fight? Either were possible, and she flung the flap open as soon as she reached the tent.
Scanning the inside, she inhaled sharply. Kane was sitting beside Caspian where he lay unmoving on one of the beds. Some medics stood whispering off to the side, and she shooed them out impatiently, trusting Kane to be able to convey the situation to her.
Kane looked back at her quickly, slowly rising to his feet and turning to face her. His expression was stoic, like usual, which made him hard to read. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but he paused as she moved closer to the bed to see for herself.
Caspian was laying on his side without a shirt on, although there were many bandages wrapped around his middle. He looked to be in a deep sleep, his face devoid of any expression. Something felt wrong, and it took her a moment to realise what was missing, beyond the bandages. His wings. Walking around the bed to the other side, she gasped, staring. The bandages on his back were stained with blood, as it started to soak through. Taking a step closer, her hand hovered over one of the bandages for a long moment, before she finally moved to lift it. A deep gash was evident, in a line where his wing should have been connected to his skin. She felt nauseous, and she might have thrown up, if her stomach hadn't become steely after all of the things she'd seen in her past. The metallic smell of blood was heavy in the air, and she didn't know how this could be real.
"Larissa?" Kane called, and she finally heard him when he called her name a second time, following it up with her Faerie name.
Looking over at him slowly, she realised he was staring at her. She wondered why, until she felt something on her cheek. Raising her hand, her finger caught on a drop of liquid, and she realised it was a tear. Another drop joined it soon after. No wonder Kane was staring – she didn't think he had ever seen her cry before.
He moved quickly, his arms encircling her and supporting her. He was always good at that, even when her emotions got the better of her. Her sobs were shuddering as she leaned against him, unable to stop once she had started. Kane smelled like a forest did after the rain – crisp and familiar and she tried to let the thought ground her. Finally, she got ahold of herself, wiping any tears remaining away, before straightening.
Kane drew back, knowing well enough that she now needed space as she processed things. "… How long ago did it happen?" she asked, finally, keeping her voice carefully neutral.
"During the last full moon," Kane responded, watching her carefully. "You couldn't have known."
Larissa shook her head, her gaze locking on Caspian's back again. She'd been away on a long trip, oblivious as to what was happening at her home. "Someone did this," she stated, feeling her anger rising, and she couldn't quell it. "And they need to pay. They did this to our boy, and they deserve to get what's coming to them," she rambled, her voice rising in her anguish.
"It was a group of half-fae," he replied, "That's all I know. I'm still working on getting all the names. And while that's important, we have plenty of time for that and there's other things we need to focus on."
Unable to stare any longer, she started to pace from one side to the other. "I need to talk to him. Can you wake him up?"
Kane shook his head firmly. "No, he needs to rest. I asked the medics to give him something because he wouldn't let anyone touch him otherwise. You know how stubborn he can be."
"And are they taking care of him? What kind of state is he in?" she questioned, needing details now that she had managed to get over her shock a little. As much as she could, anyway.
"The medics are doing the best they can. Healing spells and salves have been used, but… you know how delicate the area is," he sighed, and she tried not to think of all the little nerves that connected. "He is in so much pain and even a painkilling spell cannot subdue it. He is in and out of consciousness, and when he does sleep, he is usually in a bad way, having fits which only make it worse. He will take a long time to recover."
Drawing closer to Caspian again, she rested a hand over some of the bandages, muttering some ancient faerie words under her breath, as she did her own healing spell. She needed such things in her travels after all, even if hers wasn't as powerful as the medics.
"Larissa," Kane said in a low tone, as a warning. "You've just returned from a long trip. You need to save some energy."
She partly ignored his words, finishing the spell. Being wingless in such a way was a horrible fate to consider. Caspian's wings were his birthright, and they were beautiful, and perfectly made for him. They were a symbol of his status in the hierarchy and of his family. It was horrible to think of him having to live without them.
"Where are they? His wings?" she asked, after taking a shuddering breath.
Kane's reply was not too enlightening. "I don't know yet. The group has likely hidden them somewhere."
"When I get ahold of those who did this-…" she said, gritting her teeth, although she felt his hand against her arm lightly, to get her attention, before he drew it back.
"We need to focus on Caspian right now, not them." Kane's words were calm and clear, cutting through her anger. It was obvious that he had thought on it long and hard. Kane's gaze drifted back to his son. "You know that he is a target here, in this weakened state. And he will be for a while. He is still in danger, especially once word spreads."
She wondered what he was getting at. "And what do you propose we do?"
"You will not like it," he warned her, inhaling. "But I think we should at least consider it. Once he is recovered enough to be able to look after himself, he can't stay here as an easy target. Our family is too prominent and tempting to mess with. We need to send him away for a bit."
"Where?" she breathed, starting to piece together what he might be trying to get at.
"The mundane towns will be safer than here," he stated. "As much as we dislike it. If we pushed for him to be banished there, it would give him time to recover and to adapt and grow strong again. Then he can earn his way back here, and we can support his way back, of course."
"Banished?" she repeated, nearly choking on the word. "But he knows nothing of that place."
Kane gave a small smile with a hint of weariness to the edges. "He is strong," he said, simply. "He takes after you."
She gave a quick nod, trying her best to come to terms with it. "He is strong. And you have taught him well. He will work his way back. I believe that."
Kane hesitated. "But we need to make this look believable. We can't tell him of our plan. He needs to act the part. Do you understand?"
She didn't like the thought, but she felt they had little choice. Kane was the planner, and he had undoubtedly already thought all the options through. "…I understand," she replied, finally. Sitting down on the wooden stool beside the bed that Kane had been using earlier, she reached her fingers out. Gently, she brushed some blonde hair back from Caspian's face in a motherly kind of gesture that she rarely showed.
"We will get through this and we will find him again. I promise," Kane said quietly, and she made a slight sound in agreement. "For now, we need to lay low and support him. I will stay by his side as much as my job allows. But we can't slack off and make it look like his condition is too bad."
"I will try and try and delay my next trip by as much as I can," she continued, gazing down at him. "We'll make it work."
Weary as they were, they fell into a silence as they watched him, and Larissa didn't dare to take her gaze off him. But she knew that Kane was there, his presence often muted compared to her own, but strangely comforting.
Caspian would get through this, she told herself. Perhaps he would be different, but he would also be stronger, and that was what would keep him alive.
Just as a side note, it amazes me that I made Caspian basically 6 years ago. Like wow, 6 years. It does feel like forever, I guess and he's come a long way. Sometimes I just think it's so cool how we manage to develop the characters and the storylines and everything. It's been a good ride.