332: Hurt Oriana

Hurt Oriana

Arlan panicked and a surge of power escaped his body. The very moment he vanished from his spot, every bandit within the vicinity was slashed by an invisible blade. All the knights froze upon the realization that the bandits they were fighting fell on the ground, deader than dead.  1

Arlan's self-imposed shackle on his power was fragile in the face of Oriana's safety.Her life was above any principle he was following. 

In a blink of an eye, he disposed of the bandit problem and went after Oriana.

Realizing the situation, Imbert grabbed a torch from the ground and ran towards where he had last seen Oriana. He found that beyond the darkness was a steep slope. Oriana must have fallen down by accident.

Rafal came running to his captain's side. "His Highness?"

"He will be back soon," Imbert said and turned toward the rest. "Clean this up. Make sure all of them are dead. Rafal, check if there is a possibility of a mastermind sending these bandits here, or if they came onto us by chance."

"Yes, Captain!"

The knights obeyed their captain's orders without question. Though they were curious about the situation, none of them decided to bring it up. All of them moved to clean up the corpses blocking the road while waiting for their liege to return. 

After some time, Arlan showed up with a frail body curled in his arms. That was no doubt Oriana who had fallen down the slope.

Everyone in the delegation was relieved to see her. 

Having been around each other for about a month and a half now, everyone had a favorable opinion of this young servant. Not only was 'Physician Orian' easy on the eyes, the youth also tended to the minor ailments of the people during the journey. Moreover, they were well-aware that their master truly valued his attendant. 

Their favorable impression of her increased tonight. They had witnessed how Oriana fearlessly came out of the carriage and helped them fight the enemies. It came as a surprise that not only was she knowledgeable in herbs, but she was also a skilled archer,  someone worthy of being one of the Crown Prince's subordinates. 

Arlan carried Oriana inside the carriage and instructed Imbert. "Hurry to the next village."

Imbert had already prepared for them to depart at a moment's notice. Since they were targeted by bandits once, it did not mean the incident would not be repeated. The knights raised their vigilance, and several knights had been sent ahead as scouts. More torches were lit in order to lessen the chances of accidents due to the increase in speed.

Inside his carriage, Arlan didn't let go of the injured Oriana, keeping her on his lap. 

Oriana was in pain but she was not unconscious. She had allowed him to carry her in his arms earlier as she could not walk, but now they were inside the carriage, it would be more comfortable for her to sit on the cushion seat. She began to push his arms away.

"Your Highness…" 

The words she was about to say were swallowed the moment she met with his gaze. His eyes were unbearably cold, causing a chill to run up her spine. 

Seeing her miserable appearance—the scratches on her cheeks and the blood running down her forehead—how could Arlan's gaze not turn frosty? 

Oriana shrunk herself in his arms as if she was a child who had done something wrong, behaving timidly to not provoke his anger.

Not a single word from the prince, but his warning gaze was enough for her to not argue with him. 

'Well, I guess, sitting on his lap feels nice.'

She could not deny, even in pain, that she felt comforted to be in his embrace. 

"How's your head?"

Oriana tenderly held her forehead, wincing from time to time. "It's just a graze, not a concussion. I was able to protect my head with my hands."

Arlan noticed that she used her left hand to check her head injury. He glanced down at her right hand and saw her palm was torn open, probably by a jagged rock. He pulled out the silk handkerchief from his coat pocket and tied it around her palm to stop the bleeding. 

"Where else do you feel pain? Did you break a bone?" he asked, his voice soft 

He could smell blood all over her body, but didn't know where exactly she was hurt. 

"My entire body hurts," she answered honestly. 

Hearing her response, all he wished at this moment was to bring her to the nearest healer available and have her injuries tended.

In fact, Oriana was not heavily injured. Although the slope was steep, it was not a treacherous fall down a cliff. At the bottom, the bushes cushioned her weight. Most of what she sustained were flesh wounds caused by the random rocks and twigs scratching her body when she rolled down the slope. However, her body was probably battered enough to be bruised all over.

Arlan wanted to scold her for not obeying his order to remain in the carriage, but seeing her miserable state, he could only swallow those words. All he could do was hold her close.

"I feel sleepy," she said in a weak voice. 

The pain was making her dizzy and all she wanted was to rest.

"Sleep then." He  covered her with his coat so she wouldn't feel cold. 

Imbert had the coachman urge the horses to run at its optimal speed without rest, and later, they even divided the delegation into two groups, with the prince's carriage and a handful of escorts going ahead to reach the other side of the jungle. 

With their haste, the supposed three-day travel to cross the Savage Wilderness, the jungle demarcating the territory of the kingdoms of Othinia and Abetha, was cut short to a mere night. 

Half an hour after the sun rose, they finally saw a town by a river, but it appeared to be deserted. 

Kerry and another knight urged their horses faster to enter the town ahead of the prince. By the time the others reached the town, the two knights returned to report what they learned from a tavern. 

"Captain, due to a recent flooding, the townsfolk had been evacuated. Only a few stubborn people remained. There is only one small inn operating that accepts travelers." 

The other knight spoke, "The inn only has five rooms, and we booked the entire place."

Imbert nodded in agreement though these five rooms wouldn't be enough for all of them. Aside from Arlan and Oriana, there were five knights and two attendants. Because they traveled without food or rest throughout the night, their group was visibly exhausted. 

Fortunately, the rest of the delegation were bound to arrive in about a day and a half at the earliest. By then, they should leave for a larger town.

The biggest one was given to the Crown Prince, who of course, planned to share rooms with his mate. As for the others' arrangements, Arlan left them to their own devices.

Arlan carried Oriana to his room as he instructed Imbert, "Ask the innkeeper for a woman we can hire to help."

Imbert understood the reason and left immediately. Arlan was about to place Oriana on the bed when he heard her weak protest. "Don't."

Arlan narrowed his eyes at her, and she looked up at him with an unwavering gaze. "I am dirty. Don't put me to bed."

Due to her fall, Oriana was covered in dirt and blood. Most of the blood was her own, while some were from the fallen bandits. 

"What are you worrying about?" Arlan responded dryly. "Those bedsheets are not as precious as my clothes."

Arlan had held her for an entire night and his attire was stained with dirt and blood as well.  He put her on the bed and checked on her condition. Her face was pale and she appeared feverish. Was it an infection? She was clearly in pain but was trying her best to not show it on her face. 

Neil and Damien entered the room. Neil was carrying a basin of clean water and cloth, while Damien was carrying Oriana's bag as well as a change of clothes for the prince. They didn't need to be told what they should do. 

Neil put the basin on the table and said, "Your Highness, let me wipe Orian clean. Damien will assist your bath and your meal—"

As expected, they didn't know their young colleague was a woman so Arlan could not blame them, but there was no way he would allow any man to touch his mate. 

"No need," was all he said. "Leave those and step out."

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