The Inner Circle | A Midnight Quartet

Chapter 17 | Aspen Cooper

 "Why do you and Carmen keep throwing yourselves in deadly situations?!" Aspen shouts at Darcy as they run towards the hospital wing together. "You two really need to stop doing that."

"Well I'm sorry, but it's not exactly our fault!" Darcy snaps back. It's about 5 o'clock and the twelve hour party is still in full swing in the garden, leaving no servants in the hallway since they are currently serving everyone dinner. "How did Miles even know Carmen was hurt?"

Aspen rolls her eyes, fed up with everything going on. "He was practicing with his dagger and cut his finger. He went down there so my mom could help bandage it and found Carmen unconscious on a cot. Maragret then sent a message to our room to tell me to come down to the medical wing so I came to find you. "

"And you're getting mad at me for doing stupid and dangerous things? What was Miles doing, trying to learn to juggle with his dagger?"

They come to a stop in front of the door. "I'm not mad at you! I'm just- I'm sorry if it came across like that. There's just a lot going on right now and we both know that. Right now, though, we need to focus on helping Carmen. I'm sure that's something you can get behind doing."

Darcy doesn't have enough energy to argue with that and drops all of her anger as soon as Aspen opens the door. The three people inside turn to look at the girls entering and they rush inside to Carmen and Miles' sides. Margaret is helping Carmen drink some water as Miles props some pillows up behind his back. A large, chunky bandage is wrapped around his left hand and a similar bandage is pressed against Carmen's throat.

"Aspen, Darcy! I'm so glad you're here."

"What happened?" Darcy's tone is frantic, interrupting Margaret.

"I found Carmen passed out at my door, bleeding all over the carpet. Looks like he's been cut," Margert gestures to Darcy. "Similar to yours, missy." She draws their attention back to the boys. "Quick, both of these boys' bandages need to be changed and I have to go through all of my salves to find something to slather on the wounds." Margaret hands them both strips of fabric and some scissors. "Darcy, I am also going to need to check on your cut as well but we'll tend to that momentarily."

"Wait, Mom, you're wanting us to change their wraps?" Aspen says as Margaret moves towards her cabinets.

"Of course, honey! You've worked alongside me for years already, this should feel like muscle memory."

"But we're dealing with blood!" Darcy intervenes, looking a little pale and worried as she looks at Carmen.

"Yes, but it's your boyfriend's blood so I'm sure neither of you will mind." Darcy blushes at the use of that term but moves towards Carmen anyways. "Now please, I really need your help with this."

Aspen nods. "Alright, we can help." She points at the cot next to Carmen's and Miles sits down there. She unwraps the white cloth around his hand and gently lifts it closer to her face to get a good look at the wound. There's a slash running from his palm to the area in between his middle and ring fingers. "Why did you think it was a good idea to play with your dagger?" The words are barely a whisper but Miles can still hear it.

"I was practicing my knife throwing skills and I dropped one." Aspen's eyes flick up to his but she still holds on steady to his hand. "I want to be ready to protect you if we ever end up in one of the situations Darcy and Carmen keep getting into." They both look over to the couple and Aspen is proud that they both look calm and Darcy doesn't look on the verge of puking... yet. His bandage is much more stained with red and she wonders how deep the cut really is.

She looks back at Miles when Darcy rubs her thumb gently around Carmen's wound. "You're going to protect me?"

He uses his good hand to cup her chin. "Of course. I don't want anything bad to ever happen to you." Tears start to form in her eyes and he stubbornly wipes them away before they can even come out. "There's no need for you to cry about it. It's just a fact, Aspen. Besides, when you're crying, it makes it harder for you to see and I kinda want my bandage back on."