AN: I wrote this last week when I wrote the last chapter. I think it has its sweet moments. Thanks for your reviews Anj-Jelly-Ca, Lady Genevieve, x17SkmBdrchiczxx, Starzgirl, Grace of Masbolle, CopperIslander, Darking Girl, andanonymous a. I appreciate you all. Enjoy!
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IN PAIN AND PASSION
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"Masbolle! Duck!"
Those were the last words I remembered hearing before an explosion in the wall. The siege had gotten worse with the new Scanran ships. We were awaiting orders to pull out, while the city evacuated through the back gates. The people of Port Caynn were to be sent to Corus, to further overcrowd our Lower City slums. And then the explosion.
Before the pain, I felt myself being hurled from the wall to the courtyard below, and then darkness. I succumbed to it, wanting nothing more than to sleep.
I don't know exactly how long I slept. When I briefly woke, my vision was very hazy. I saw blurry healers wrapping bandages around anyone with crimson blood stains. Some men in nearby stretchers were moaning, and it made my head hurt. A kind healing woman squeezed a little bit of water into my mouth. I swallowed, noting a fierce pain in my right side and my left leg, along with a headache far worse than any hangover I'd ever had. Sleep seemed to be my friend, and once again, I let it take me over.
For the next few days I roamed between conscious and unconscious. Vague visions and memories still plague me from those days; healers with salves and bandages, choking on a bit too much water; a man beside me who'd lost a leg. All manner of horrible things.
And then I really woke.
"Thet!" I said, trying to sit up. My progress was marred not only by my pain, but by a woman's body beside me on the cot. It was Kel, curled into my left side, her hand on her small baby-belly.
A firm hand pushed me back down.
"Sorry milord," the nursing woman said, "Healer's orders. Stay put until I get him, and try not to wake your wife. She only just fell asleep."
The woman turned brusquely and trotted away, stopping to straighten the bedclothes on an occupied cot. Her tone and volume made easy work of waking Kel. She yawned, stretching her right arm. I slipped my own arm around her and pulled her close, helping her to realize that I was awake.
"Dom!" she yelped quietly, showering my face with kisses.
A few moments later a tall man with brilliant green eyes walked over to us. He cleared his throat, and Kel looked up at him sheepishly.
"He's awake," Duke Baird," she said, slipping onto the empty cot.
"So I'm told," my uncle said, determinedly cheerful. "I need to ask him a few standard questions.
"Ask away," Kel said, taking my hand. Uncle sat down as well, scrutinizing me with his eyes and his Gift.
"Do you remember what your name is?" I nodded slowly.
"Domitan of Masbolle." I was a little embarrassed that I'd had to give the question a moment's thought.
"And do you remember where you were when you got hurt?"
"I was on the city wall in Port Caynn. There was an explosion…" I paused, remembering the terrified screams of the others in my squad. "My men? How many of us survived?"
"Only you and Wolset, though he's worse off than you," Kel said softly.
"There were others Dom," Uncle Baird asked. "Innocent women and children." Children, I thought.
"Thet!"
"Who is Thet?" Uncle asked, timing perfect.
"He's a little boy I met at Port Caynn," I explained. I looked to Kel knowing that she'd understand. "Thet was orphaned in the first blast. He's got red hair and green eyes and I think he's got the Sight."
"He's your Tobe," Kel said, gazing into my eyes. I smiled. She'd hit the nail on the head. "And you want to keep him?"
"Exactly," I said. I would have thought that even Kel would need more reason than I'd given her, but she stood.
"Then I'll go ask around and see if I can find out where the refugees are," Kel said, kissing my forehead. I caught her arm and gave her a deep kiss. Her eyes glistened with relief as she turned to leave the infirmary.
Throughout this exchange my uncle had been patiently silent. I turned my head to him.
"How bad am I hurt?" I asked.
"Enough to have slept for a week and a half," Uncle said dryly. "After your flying experience you broke your left leg and there was a nasty gash in your side. Both are healing nicely now. You also cracked your head when you landed."
"I guess it's a good thing I have a hard head. It'll be easier to write that to Mother." Uncle nodded, looking down at the wound he was re-bandaging. Studying his face, I realized that he had been worried about me. "Are you alright?" I asked.
"You, lad, are the closest thing to a son that I have left in this land. I won't have you worrying me or your poor mother again. And Keladry, in her condition- I think it's best if you take a nice long time recovering, and marry that girl."
"What about Port Caynn? What happened?" I asked, dreading the answer. It was slightly different than I had anticipated. After the wall was knocked in on me and my boys, we were replaced by a squad of Riders. The locals and villagers were evacuated, as were the wounded, which included me. For the next few days the ships volleyed more blazebalm bombs at the wall, but most didn't hit. The Tortallans shot back with catapulted rocks of their own, but it was only enough to put us in a stalemate position.
"Yesterday the Wildmage found help in a pod of killer whales, who used their size to capsize some of the ships," Uncle Baird said. "With her help they'd been able to find the right ship and kill the mage who had secured the dampening spell. That lifted, Master Numair unleashed his magic on the ships in the bay. The two leftover boats retreated. It must have been a sight to see."
As I listened to uncle's tale, I felt a surge of national pride, but I also began to feel very sleepy again. I yawned.
Uncle Baird smiled, patting my shoulder.
"Get some rest. You can celebrate Tortall's first big victory when you're back on your feet."
