35. Helping

Arganan opened his eye, blinking several times to get rid of the blurriness. Soreness wracked his body, almost reminding him of the last time he woke up in the Clinic.

Speaking of waking up in the Clinic, he was pretty sure that was where he was, right now, given the familiar feeling of the mattress underneath him, as well as his own pillow under his head.

"Uncle?"

Arganan's gaze snapped to his right, just in time to see Calista sitting by his bedside. Her eyes widened upon seeing him, and she reached out a hand to brush bangs out of his face.

"Calista…?" Arganan murmured. She looked unharmed.

"Are you okay?" Calista's voice came out in a whisper. Arganan wasn't sure of when he ever heard her speak so quietly before.

"I'm fine…" Arganan tried to sit up, but winced as soreness spread through his chest, and so he laid back down again. "What happened?" He asked.

"You got knocked out during the fight." Calista managed, swallowing. "And your metal leg was completely smashed in the process."

Arganan barely restrained himself from cursing at that. "What about the arm…?"

A soft hum left someone else, and Arganan looked past Calista to see that Dolce was present, putting some bandages on the nearby shelf. "It's also broken, but it's nothing Bado can't fix, thankfully. A few gears just need replacement."

"You also bruised several ribs, and three of them is fractured." Arganan looked to his left to see Jones approach them, a soft sigh leaving him. "You need bedrest for at least the rest of the week. Longer, even. It's a miracle you didn't break any limbs, nor did you suffer any concussion."

Arganan closed his good eye, trying to absorb the information. Him being on bedrest from injuries wasn't new, at this point. "And Lady Ventuswill? What happened to her?"

"She's collapsed. She's trying to preserve what energy she has." Jones swallowed as Arganan opened his eye to face him. "Vishnal, Clorica and Volkanon are doing all they can to help her right now, and Arthur and Frey are both asking Doug further questions about the Sechs Empire, right now, to see if they can find leads on how they can get the Rune Spheres back."

"Zael is with them, too." Calista gently added. "I figured we should help, in some way."

"You don't have to." Arganan managed, looking towards her. "You have the Gurak to deal with back in Lazulis. You and Zael need to be there."

"But the Sechs are our enemy as much as they are to Selphia." Calista tried to argue, frowning. "And now that they've endangered the Divine Wind, by the stealing the Rune Spheres…"

"But you also need to take care of Lazulis first." Arganan looking her directly in the eye. "I've helped Frey and Selphia before. I can do it again."

"It's not just all about you," Calista snapped, and he swallowed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Dolce and Jones leave Calista and Arganan alone to speak further, likely not wanting to get in the middle of this discussion right now. "I know you care for Frey. And Ventuswill, and everyone else in Selphia. But you're not Selphia's only ally, uncle. Lazulis effectively is, too. And as Countess of Lazulis, I should be helping with this."

"And how do you plan to do that?" He countered. He saw her falter, and he saw a chance. "Sure, Arthur knows a lot about all of Norad and Selphia, and its history with fighting the Sechs. But with the official election of the new King of the Gurak, the only way you're going to know of those results fast enough is if you're back at Lazulis. Make sure things are secure there, before helping Selphia first. I understand that situation."

He was the Count before her, after all. And it wasn't the first time some other land, whether they be part of the Empire or not, ended up having new rulers. And then there was the whole notion of getting to know that, letting things adjust, especially if said new rulers wanted to make new deals and so on, and…well, it was a complicated process of politics and bargaining. He knew that. He knew that she probably knew that, too, given her nod of understanding.

"I'll return to Lazulis with Zael immediately tomorrow morning." Calista finally managed. "I'll get Sir Therius to come back and help Princess Frey and Arthur here directly. In the meantime, I'll see what we can find on the Sechs Empire, and send the information to Frey as soon as I can. But…" She raised a brow, looking him in the eye, "You need to rest. And be careful. I know about your debt, for instance. And you're also not physically capable of running off to a Water Temple right now."

Arganan grimaced. "I'm not surprised that you know." He was more than sure that it must be odd, hearing about the former Count of Lazulis crashing an airship in Selphia while driving it unlicensed. Probably not a good thing, either.

A soft chuckle left his niece, and he saw a light smile appear on her lips. "When did you get so reckless? I never thought you'd ever…"

"I know." A brief chuckle left him, but he grimaced as his ribs stung. "Funny, isn't it?"

Silence fell between them, and Calista took a deep breath, before speaking again. "I know we didn't get to talk much. And I know we need to. But I'll do what I can to respond faster to your letters."

He let those words sink in, as he leaned back against the pillow in bed, still gazing up at her. "Thank you." He breathed. "I know it's not easy."

"It isn't." She admitted, before she swallowed. "But thank you. For helping."

That was the last he heard from Calista before she left, the next day. Before she left, though, she'd left a note for her uncle, and Arganan read it after breakfast that morning:

Dear Uncle,

I know we have so much more to speak about, and I'm sorry we barely had the time to do so while I was here. I hope to make it up to you the next time I am here. How soon that will happen, I don't know. I wish you a swift recovery from the earlier battle, regardless.

The last thing I want is the Sechs destroying Selphia and the rest of the land of Norad with it. In terms of learning about the Sechs, however, given that Doug was a spy for the Empire, perhaps it would be good to ask him about what he knows. It might be a start. In the meantime, I'll continue research in Lazulis. I hope that I can uncover anything on the Sechs Empire that might be useful to you, Princess Frey and Arthur, as well as Lady Ventuswill and the rest of Selphia. I'll send another letter, soon.

Sincerely, Calista

Arganan put down the letter, a sigh leaving him. Dolce looked towards him, having changed the bandages around his head. "Is everything okay?" She asked.

He nodded, looking her in the eye. "They will be. I hope so, at least." He managed. With her help, he sat up in bed fully, watching her as she put the old bandages in the trash. "So…it's supposed to take a week for me to heal?"

"Yes. And you're not leaving this Clinic until Jones gives the okay." Dolce spoke, giving him a stern glance.

"Don't worry!" Pico suddenly appeared in front of Arganan, perching on the end of his bed with a smile, and he jumped a little upon her appearance. "I'll be here to occupy you and Mi'lady for the whole week! It'll be fun!"

A groan escaped Arganan at that as he leaned back into the pillow, briefly covering his face with the letter. "Let's just see if I survive the week. I don't know if I will, if you keep scaring me like that."

"Ughhhh! Lighten up!"

Arganan thought he heard Dolce laugh at Pico's pouting, and he couldn't help but smile a little.

He would recover. All he had to do was be patient. And hopefully, in the meantime, Frey and the others would find a way to save Ventuswill and stop the Sechs Empire. Hopefully, he'd have another chance to be with his niece and talk things out, sometime soon.