This is a rather short chapter, so I apologize for that and hope you'll still enjoy it. Take it as an extra dose of angst !
CHAPTER 90
Soaking wet, a dejected Phil was dragging his bare feet on the pavement, while trying to ignore the side glances from the townsfolk. He was a pitiful sight. He had no boots, no suit of armor and his wet shirt was sticking to his upper body. His blond hair was dripping around his face and a few locks were clustered on his skin in odd places. But that wasn't what was bugging him right now.
Oh, how he hated that Hans had been able to get away after assaulting Varian. He felt so angry at himself for failing to stop the man. He should never have let his guard down. He should have gotten at Hans while he still could. He should have punched his smug face long ago and never let him near Varian ever again. He should have…
He lifted his clouded gaze as he heard some commotion in the distance. Within seconds, the street was full of galloping horses, the Captain at the head. Upon seeing Phil, the man pulled the reins and raised his hand and all the riders came to a stop behind him.
"Soldier !", the older man barked in a tone that made Phil instinctively shrink, "Where is Hans ?"
Phil started to stutter.
"Um, he – well he…"
"Did he escape ? Where was he headed ?", the Captain boomed urgently. It was clearly not the time to mess with him.
"Beyond the bridge, Sir", Phil quickly answered, his whole body stiffening. "I don't know which direction he took after that."
"You abandoned your position and stupidly acted alone. You'd better be able to explain that to me. Now, get back to the castle and stay there. It's an order."
Leaving no chance for the younger guard to reply, the Captain spurred his horse. "Onward, men !"
The second after, Phil was standing alone in the middle of the street again, only more demoralized than before.
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Elora hadn't stopped crying since she came back to Remyus' chamber. She was now sitting completely still next to a sleeping Varian, tears running down her cheeks, havoc in her head.
Her mind reeled over and over on how she found Varian, his eyes closed and looking very pale, with Alden beside him holding a bloody rag to his cheek.
"No…. what happened ?" she breathed, her voice failing her with shock. She was only gone a few minutes. A few minutes.
"Elora !", Alden turned his head, urgency and relief mixing on his features. "Come here. Keep pressing on the rag for me. I need to get the Captain."
Elora was not moving. She stood there, frozen except for her eyes that were darting wildly back and forth.
"NOW !", Alden yelled to snap her out of it. At that, Elora stepped forward, still in a daze, but she obeyed.
"Good," the man encouraged her as he patted her shoulder. "I'll also get Remyus as soon as I can." He dashed out of the room but remembered something at the last second, and he had to grab the doorframe to stop himself in his impulsion.
"And if he wakes up, do not touch him", he pointed out, his tone dead serious "He'll need some space." And with that, he vanished faster than lightning.
But Varian still hadn't woken up. He was lying there as motionless as death. Elora could only wait and wait, utterly confused and deeply distressed as guilt washed over her.
At last, Remyus arrived, Ethel on his heels. The little girl ran straight to her grandmother and threw herself in her arms, sobbing loudly.
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When Phil arrived at the castle at last, his feet were red and sore with the walk he had to take. How did the Princess do to galavant around barefoot all the time ? His clothes were still unpleasantly damp, but it didn't matter. He needed to check on Varian.
As he got there, he saw Alden standing in the hallway outside the chambers. The man was taking a well-deserved break to calm his own nerves while the physician tended to the boy. Phil noticed he looked absolutely exhausted.
"Alden…" he began but was stopped as the older man spoke up, gesturing wildly at him.
"There you are ! What's gotten into you, running off like that to go after Hans ? Once you were gone, I couldn't leave to get help, not with Varian unconscious and bleeding. The Queen specifically instructed us to never leave him alone, Phil, and you… you deserted him."
Phil hung his head. He felt so ashamed and was now fully realizing how impulsively he acted. TO make it worse, it knew it wasn't the first time that he lost his temper in dire situations… and that Varian was the one to pay the price.
Alden ran a hand through his own hair, remorseful as soon as he saw the young guard's put-out expression.
"I'm sorry…. Look, I know that what Hans did enraged you, I'm angry at him too," he began on a gentler tone. "But we are a team, remember ? Your chances to get him by yourself were very slim. It was the Captain's duty to deal with the two-faced snake, with the rest of the squad. And ours was to inform him…"
"…and to stay by Varian's side, I know…" Phil admitted sadly. "I… I lost control…. Why do I keep messing things up ?"
Alden stretched out his hand and gave the other a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder.
"Don't say that. Look at all the good you did to this boy so far. He really cares about you. Do you know he asked for you when he briefly woke up ?"
"Really ?" Phil asked, wiping his runny nose with his sleeve. "Sorry…. the water was cold…" he muttered, knowing that he couldn't hide how moved he was by Alden's words.
"Yeah, well, maybe you should go and take off those wet clothes to begin with", Alden chuckled.
"Boys !"
Ethel appeared in the doorway. The old handmaiden's chubby face held a preoccupied look.
"Oh, Alden, thank you for taking Elora to her mother earlier. Varian is on the verge of waking up right now. Remyus needs both of you to come and help us over there. He's going to stitch the gash on his cheeks and we will need your strong hands to keep him down."
Phi paled at this and swallowed hard as another pang of guilt twisted his insides.
