Flower Amongst Thorns [Boy x Boy]

Chapter 25

Artios quickly helped Ivy up onto Elizabeth, basically just carrying him up from under the armpits when he was struggling too much, so they didn't have to waste any more time.

The swordsman noticed that Elizabeth was much gentler when the small teen was riding with them, and for once he was really grateful for that.

Ivy had been getting more and more feverish and sick as the day passed, but he for the most part he handled himself without even complaining once. That is until three-quarters of the way to the top when he couldn't hold himself up anymore and almost slipped off Elizabeth without warning.

Luckily Elizabeth stopped as soon as she noticed, and Artios was able hastily to grab the small teen's hand and pull him back up before he crashed into the ground.

"Hey! What happened dumbass?!" The swordsman demanded as he anxiously felt the barely coherent younger's forehead and realized that the boy was a lot warmer than before, abnormally warm, even for a fever.

"I dunno, I'm just really tired..." Ivy mumbled back, the sudden lack of energy in his voice beyond concerning.

Since he was so cheerful and talkative the whole time, happily rambling on about random things without a care like he usually did, they hadn't noticed the extent of how sick the boy had become until he almost passed out.

Artios realized the teen had probably been trying to act fine so that they didn't get too worried or scared, and start panicking. That was totally an Ivy thing to do! The man mentally kicked himself for not noticing sooner or checking on him regularly.

He had been so focused on reaching the top as fast as possible that he had forgotten to keep an eye on the younger's condition.

"Go to sleep idiot, you need rest." The thief ordered, voice softer and gentler than ever before, as he repositioned the teen so that his head was pressed against the man's chest and his legs were dangling off one side.

This way the boy wouldn't have to hold himself up anymore. It was the best Artios could do for now.

Normally the swordsman would've been embarrassed or flustered being this close to the the small teen, but at this time his worry and fear overwhelmed any other feeling he had.

Ivy complied without much of a fight, after all he must have been exhausted...

They covered the rest of the trip in silence, the only noises being Elizabeth's hooves and Artios's occasional reassurances that they were almost there.

They finally reached the top when the sun had set almost halfway. It was a bit later than anticipated, but the swordsman couldn't do anything about it now, so he shoved the thought in the back of his mind, deciding to put all his energy in what they had come here for instead of wasting time fretting about something that couldn't be controlled.

He had to find the Luna quickly.

He got off Elizabeth, and then gently but quickly carried Ivy down right after, with an arm underneath his skinny legs and back.

It was easier than Artios had expected since the boy weighed practically nothing, which on its own was kind of scary.

The small teen was in absolutely no condition to do anything himself, still fast asleep from when he passed out on the way earlier, so the older decided that he would go look for the Luna on his own and bring it back. 

He propped the Ivy up against a smooth and sturdy tree with his fluffy pink blanket still bundled around him along with Artios' travel blanket too, making sure he looked comfortable before leaving him there.

Looking at the eighteen-year-old's pained expression in his sleep, Artios couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if he hadn't come to find the teen on time, a spark of fear following right after.

The thief pushed the niggling thought away right after, because now was not the time to worry about that. What was important was that it didn't happen, and he was here now.

"Take care of him while I go look okay Elizabeth?" Artios pleaded.

The mare gently pushed his back with her snout and then nuzzled Ivy in response, pulling the boy's blankets up when she saw tremors wracking his lean shoulders.

"Thanks Liz." The swordsman smiled gratefully, using the nickname Ivy had given her without realizing, before heading off.

The top of the mountain wasn't too big, so he could always see the duo from his peripheral vision, but he was still happy that someone he trusted was there to watch over Ivy.

It gave him the peace of mind to look properly without worrying too much.

Unfortunately that peace of mind didn't last very long, because no matter how much the swordsman looked, he couldn't find anything that remotely resembled a flower.

The whole area was filled with dry greenery and piles of snow. Artios looked everywhere, even pushing clumps of grass aside to see if the Luna was hiding between them but there was nothing.

Artios was now beginning to panic a little bit, the sun was almost down, they had a couple minutes maximum, and he hadn't even found a trace.

Even Elizabeth was starting to look anxious, pacing from side to side next to Ivy.

The swordsman took a deep breath to calm himself and was about to continue his search, when he heard a stampede of loud footsteps and clacking of hooves approaching them.

No, no, no, no, now was really not the time for this. Please be going in the other direction!

"There he is!" A strong feminine voice announced as a group of synchronized boot thumps followed in its wake.

Shit. Artios could recognize that voice anywhere. It was Nefari and the palace guard.

This was not good. So not good.