It was already late in the afternoon when there was a soft, repetitive knock on the door. Aloy scanned in the direction with her focus to see who it was. As she opened it, she said:
"It's Ita-"
"Avad!" exclaimed the young prince, entering the room in a hurry. He ran toward the bed and leaped onto it.
"Itamen!" the Sun-King smiled at the sight.
"Slow down, Itamen!" Vanasha ordered as she entered the room.
"How are you?" he asked, hugging Avad tightly. The monarch embraced him in a paternal manner. Aloy watched the scene with tenderness, thinking that the young Carja likely saw the king more as a father figure than an older brother.
"I'm better," Avad replied with a smile.
"He was very worried about you," Vanasha pointed out, "and today he said he wouldn't move until he saw his brother."
"I was scared that something bad had happened to you." Itamen said with a sad tone in his voice while hugging the Sun-King, unintentionally causing pain in his ribs. Only the huntress could perceive the touch of pain in his gaze.
"Don't worry, it won't happen again, okay?" she reassured him, caressing his head.
"Great!" the boy jumped from the bed again with Vanasha. "Give it to him, show him what we brought." The woman approached where the king was resting, but before she could hand him anything, Itamen snatched it from her hands and rushed over to his brother. "I made this for you." he said excitedly, handing him a scroll. Avad took it and looked at it. On the scroll, there was a drawing of two little figures, one tall and the other small, holding hands in a green field. He felt his eyes moisten as he had a flashback of a pile of burning objects. "It's you and me. When you get better, we can go play in the garden." With effort, he contained his emotions.
"I love it, Itamen, thank you so much. It's beautiful. Of course, we'll go play." he said excited with a big smile on his face. "Thank you very much, really." he thanked again, extending his arms for the boy to hug him. The huntress couldn't help but watch the scene with tenderness. The child was so happy showing his brother what he had done. She felt herself blushing.
"Aloy!" exclaimed the prince, noticing her presence. He was so enthusiastic about seeing his brother that he hadn't realized she was there. "Avad, will you tell her to teach me how to use a bow?"
"And why don't you ask her yourself?" he replied, requesting her with a sidelong glance. She smiled at him, and Itamen ran to her side.
"Will you teach me? Pretty pleaseeee." he begged, pulling at her Nora garb. She squatted down to be at his eye level.
"Of course, I'd be honored." she replied. The boy jumped for joy. "Can you do it today?" she asked Vanasha.
"You make time for the prince but not for me? I'm going to get jealous…" Vanasha responded with a wide smile. Both of them laughed.
"I have time for you as well, of course."
"Well, see you later, little huntress." she said. "Come on, Itamen, your brother needs to rest."
"Are we leaving already?" he complained. "I want to stay a little longer."
"The Sun-King is very tired." she began to say.
"Don't worry, Vanasha, let him stay a little longer, and we can spend some time together. If you want, you two can go do something together, and in the meantime, I'll be with my brother, does that sound okay with you, Itamen?"
"Of course!" he exclaimed joyfully.
"Works for me." Vanasha replied, looking at Aloy.
"Sounds good to me as well." she responded.
"Come on, Itamen, let's find something to play with, and you stay with Avad." the two of them left the room. Aloy turned to the king, who was still gazing at the drawing with emotion.
"Thank you for wanting to teach him how to use the bow." she said, shifting her gaze from the artwork to the huntress. "It means a lot to him, especially that it's you who's teaching him. Vanasha tried, but he always said that you promised to teach him. He really looks up to you." she added with a smile.
"I'd love to teach him." Aloy said. He tried to stretch to place the drawing on the nightstand, but due to the pain, he couldn't reach it.
"Could you...?" he began to ask, but she reacted before he finished, positioning the drawing where he could see it from his spot. "Thank you. I don't want it to get lost."
"I saw how excited you were." she commented, sitting next to him.
"Yes... I just want him to be happy, to have a childhood he enjoys remembering..." In an instant, his gaze became sad. "My father never liked any of the things I did." he was aware that in the absence of a father figure, his role in the boy's life was crucial. "I just want him to feel how I wish I had felt." he confessed. She lowered her gaze.
"Well, you're doing great. He seems very happy." she replied, placing her hand on top of his.
"We're here!" Itamen burst in, running with a bag of toys in his hand. In one leap, he sat down beside the Sun-King. Aloy released his hand instantly. Vanasha, who followed him, carried a couple of books in her hands.
"Uthid asked me if I could help him prepare something, do you mind if we switch the plans? First, you can go to the garden with the bows, and then we'll have a snack while they spend some time together."
"But then I can play with Avad later, right?" he asked, approaching Nora.
"Of course you can." she replied.
"By me, it's perfectly fine. I'll wait here with your things, okay?" the king said.
"Yes!" he exclaimed.
"Shall we?" Vanasha asked, looking at the young huntress.
"Goodbye." she said, waving at the king. He smiled warmly.
They spent about an hour practicing with the bow. They used a small one they kept at the palace and a couple of targets. The prince enthusiastically tried to hit the target. The few times he succeeded, he celebrated by jumping around the garden. Afterward, the warriors went to have a snack. As they chatted, they lost track of time.
"So, how long are you planning to stay?" Vanasha asked.
"I don't know... I have to go to the Sacred Lands, and there's still a lot to do before my mission is complete."
"Oh!" she replied thoughtfully. "And... is there a specific reason you're staying? I mean, last time you left right after arriving, without notice..." Aloy didn't respond. "Does that reason have dark hair, brown eyes, and is injured?" Aloy choked on her snack, coughing repeatedly and widening her eyes.
"What?" she asked startled, making eye contact, looking at Vanasha's eyes.
"Well, will you look at that, the Savior of Meridian just got nervous. That's not something you see every day." Vanasha said with a light laugh. "I just wanted to confirm if you... correspond to him." Did she just say "correspond"? Aloy looked into her eyes. "After saving the Prince of the Eclipse, I spent most of my time around here, which has allowed me to get to know the royal family more deeply. In the end, they've earned my appreciation, even Itamen, who can't seem to resist playing with the worms in the Solarium. They've become like family to me, and the Sun-King has won my respect. I just want the best for him, and I like you. He seems like a good man, and you deserve no less." She paused for a moment. "I just want to give you some advice if you'll permit me." Aloy looked at her with interest.
"Of course, I'd love to hear it." she asked somewhat bashfully.
"When you leave to continue your mission... I'd like to know, and I'm sure he would too. I know he tries to show as little vulnerability as possible given his position, but when you left... especially after the War, I could see him... quite distressed... seemingly down without an apparent reason."
"I... I'll keep that in mind." she responded timidly. "So, after all... he still... cares for me?" she asked with even more timidity, lowering her voice considerably.
"I'd say he does... He took great care to have the gifts he thought of for you ready as soon as possible, in case you returned, even though none of us knew if we'd see you again... And... I sensed something when I ran into him the morning after your return, talking to Varl about you vanishing... again."
"Wow... I... thank you for the advice." she responded with a slight smile. "I didn't think I could have hurt him by leaving like that..."
"You're welcome." she replied kindly. "Come on, that was true! It's getting late." she said, quickly getting up.
Aloy and Vanasha returned to the royal quarters together after their conversation. Since Avad wouldn't get up to open the door, they entered after gently knocking. They were met with one of the most heartwarming scenes they had ever seen. The bed was full of human-shaped toys, skillfully crafted machines, and other pieces. Itamen rested snuggled up against the king, who had his arm around him while holding a book with his left hand, which he had probably been reading to the prince before falling into a deep sleep. Both of them slept soundly, with smiles on their faces.
"Ooohh..." Aloy murmured, touched by the sight, feeling her cheeks turn rosy. A silly grin appeared on her face.
"An interesting reaction to the presence of the king." Vanasha murmured loud enough for the huntress to hear, analyzing her reaction. Aloy widened her eyes and cleared her throat.
"Vanasha..." she complained.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me, little huntress." she whispered with satisfaction. "I was going to take Itamen to his mother… Can you stay and let them know I'll be back soon if they wake up?"
"Of course, don't worry, we'll wait here for you." she whispered. Vanasha left the room, and Aloy began to collect the toys. From time to time, she gazed tenderly at the king, but the happy and calm expression on his face changed with each glance she took. She noticed that his face grew more serious and tense. He started frowning and pursing his lips, showing signs of distress. She approached to check if something was wrong, recalling how he had acted a couple of nights ago. If it happened again, the young prince would likely be frightened.
"Ah!" Avad took a deep breath as he half sat up. He looked around as if searching for something, and when he saw his brother, he relaxed. With a sigh, he reclined on the cushions, his hand resting on his wounded side, and he winced slightly.
"Avad?" the huntress asked as she saw him wake up so abruptly.
"Are you okay?" the little boy asked, worried. As the Nora had predicted, his startle had woken him.
"Yes, don't worry, I just got a little scared, it's nothing." he replied, rubbing his eyes. Then, he looked at the book he had left unfinished. "Oops, it's very late... Shall we finish this tomorrow?" he suggested.
"Yes, of course." the boy responded happily. "I'm a little tired too."
"Vanasha will be back soon." Aloy informed them.
"Were you talking about me?" Vanasha asked as she entered the room. "Come on, Itamen, it's getting late, and you still need to have dinner. By the way, I brought your dinner with me." the prince picked up the remaining toys and left with his caregiver after giving his brother one last hug.
"Goodbye." he waved as they left.
"Hey... Are you okay?" she asked when they were alone. She sat by his side on the edge of the bed for a more intimate conversation.
"Yes…" he answered, looking downcast. "No…" he corrected himself a few seconds later, biting his lower lip. "I'm... I'm scared, Aloy, but not for myself…" he explained with a sad tone, looking at the drawing his brother had given him. "They came for me twice, they even got into my very office… And my attempt to resist was useless! Imagine if they go after Itamen... He wouldn't be able to defend himself! Look at what's become of me…" he said, pointing to his body with his arms. "If they did something to him... I couldn't bear it." he said, pained. "I'm very frightened…"
"Oh... Avad…" she tried to comfort him. "It won't happen to you again. It's true that they broke in twice, but Marad is going to reinforce the security with the plan that Uthid and Vanasha are devising. There won't be a single corner of the palace without surveillance. You can rest easy. Plus, Itamen has double security. Vanasha never takes her eyes off him for a minute. No matter how affectionate she is with him, anyone who even thinks about threatening him won't live to talk about it. You can be sure of that." he looked back at the drawing and sighed, feeling somewhat relieved.
"Thank you. I don't know how you do it, but you always manage to calm me down." he said with a smile. She returned the gesture as she got up to fetch the food Vanasha had brought. "By the way, thanks for spending time with Itamen. He was so excited. He told me everything you taught him, and that he even hit a couple of bullseyes."
"You don't have to thank me, it was an honor."
They continued to eat quietly, and after a thorough inspection of his bandages under the weary but watchful eye of the king, Aloy collected the dishes.
"Now you must rest." she said gently.
"Thank you, Aloy, you don't know how grateful I am…"