Forbidden Chains
By: rainjewel
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Chid opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He turned his head to his right side too look at Akaro. She was curled up in an armchair; her hand was loosely but firmly attached to Chid's right hand. She was snoring softly, but it sounded like a purr. He smiled. I owe so much to her, thought Chid. My goodness, I bet she's absolutely exhausted. She probably had to see more then anyone would have expected of her. She had been with him day and night throughout the entire ordeal, though Allen had taken her sleeping, exhausted body from the room on a few occasions so she could rest properly and get some food.
It had been seven moons since the dragon. Chid knew how lucky he was to be alive. Serena had explained to him how he had seemingly died, but had been revived by CPR performed by Gadeth and a quick transfusion of Van and Shail's blood. It amused Chid that Shail had donated his blood. The boys' had met each other in dueling matches and Shail had usually won, since he was 3 rotations Chid's senior. Luckily, Shail had quit when he had turned 18, and Chid then became the Champion. Chid and Shail had never become close, but the two knew and respected each other, though Chid was always disappointed that he could rarely defeat Shail. The Duke used Chid's defeats as an excuse to not let him quit his sparring classes.
Ah, the Duke, thought Chid bitterly. The great Mahad had come to see his son after surgery. He had only stayed a few days, but Chid was generally unconscious, or was feigning a comatose state when he was in the room. The Duke never said anything to him. He just sat there, and Chid only heard the sound of his labored breathing and the metal clinks of his footsteps whenever the Duke left or entered the room. Chid was surprised that the Duke had let him stay at Fanelia. He still couldn't figure that one out.
"Why, I didn't know you were awake!" said Gadeth, walking amiably into the room. Chid looked pointedly at Akaro. The Sergeant lowered his voice when he noticed the cat girl sleeping in the chair.
"I've come to change the dressing on your leg and arm, Little Boss," he said a bit quieter. He had taken up addressing Chid as "Little Boss" ever since the Prince had waken up. Chid found it amusingly casual but respectful, but he didn't know why Gadeth felt himself obliged to use a title for him.
"Hello Gadeth," said Chid, "I'm feeling really good today. I think this is the best I've felt yet."
"Yeah, you're finally fully coherent," said Gadeth. "No offense o' course, but you seemed to be out on the Mystic Moon at times."
"Yes, well, I guess that happens when you recover from life-threatening injuries," said Chid. He said the words bitterly. He hated being injured. The Duke had instilled a deep loathing for showing fear or sadness in Chid, which he considered a weakness. Chid knew that his arm would probably be broken for another 15 or 20 moons, and it depressed him.
"Well, don't get too depressed Little Boss," said Gadeth, as if reading his mind. He was unwrapping Chid's leg wound. It had been stitched with heavy black cord, and was "healing nicely" according to Serena. His arm was doing pretty good as well.
"Hey Gadeth," said Chid, "Why are you still here? I thought Allen told everyone to go home." Allen was currently away at the moment, informing the Asturian King that he was taking leave for "family troubles". People almost always assumed his "family troubles" were related to Serena, so usually Allen was left alone about his absences.
"I decided to stay and help Serena. She sounded like she could use some help. Can't expect that little one over there to do everything," said Gadeth, jerking his head at the still sleeping Akaro. "And I like this medical stuff. You and I are lucky Princess Millerna taught me all this doctor crap, 'scuse my language."
"I know I heard someone mention my name," said a feminine voice. Millerna closed the door and walked to Chid's side. "Gadeth, I'll take over. How are you doing today Chid?"
"Best yet," said Chid with forced cheerfulness. He watched Gadeth leave the room. Millerna started to change the wrapping on his arm.
"Well, I though I'd let you know that Serena and I told the Duke that you need to stay in her care until you are in the peak of health, due to the transfusion. After all, those things are only experimental right now," said Millerna. She stopped and smiled at Chid.
"Does he know that I have Draconian blood now?" asked Chid. He hated to think of what the Duke would say to that.
"He's under the impression that Serena gave the transfusion. Anyway, he left a few days ago and Eries went with him. She doesn't like Fanelia for some reason. She says she has bad memories, but I don't understand that. Oh well," said Millerna sighing. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm leaving today, and I want you to know that you don't have to worry about marrying Nidia. I think that's one of the grossest things in all of Gaea, and Dryden and I would never consent to that."
"I love you Aunt Millerna," he said with a smile. Chid let out a great sigh of relief. He'd been thinking of that little predicament throughout her entire speech.
"Goodbye darling, I know you'll have a wonderful time at Fanelia, once you get your health back. You have 3 good medical personal here, so you should be fine." She planted a kiss on Chid's forehead and left the room.
Chid closed his eyes. For the moment, everything seemed to be right in his life. He was getting better, he wasn't going to marry his cousin, and he was away from perfect Freid. He slowly drifted into a soothing, dreamless sleep.