Every day, George grimly tended Alanna's wounds, fed her, and made her comfortable. Their time together was marred by uncomfortable silence. Three days after Jon kissed her, George was making his wife green tea. When he brought it to her, she was pacing the room.
"Lay back down," he scolded, "or ye'll never heal."
"Has Jon visited again yet?"
Scowling, George looked down, his hands shaking in rage. "Yer king is still sitting in his palace, most likely waitin' for you to come to him. I thought you two were in a fight, anyways."
"We were," Alanna whispered."
"Thayet left him," George said.
Alanna gasped. She couldn't believe that her friend, the queen, would leave Jon. But at the same time, she was a little happy. Jon was a free man.
George saw the slight happiness flicker in his wife's eyes, and left the room. I should have known, he thought, that when we do have a conversation, its helter-skelter and negative. I wonder when she'll leave me for Jon. Behind him, purple light flared as Alanna worked a self-healing.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Jon sat in the throne room, a piece of parchment clutched and crumpled in his hands. He had found Thayet's goodbye letter on her pillow. She had only taken Kalisan with her, but didn't say where she had gone. He grunted and tossed the paper to the floor, and stood up.
"Raoul!" he called. His friend was reviewing maps in the room next door.
"What," grumbled the weary knight.
"I would like you to go get Alanna, and bring her back to Corus to be tended to by Duke Baird.
Raoul rolled his eyes, but complied, and left to retrieve Alanna.