Breaking out

Chapter 22

Yeran groaned, blinking against the light in his eyes. His head felt heavy, his body tired. His throat felt dry, parched almost.

Instead of the expected wooden ceiling of the army barracks, what met his eyes were a patched hay roof.

"What the.." he blinked, rubbing against his eyes to clear his vision.

"You are awake," he turned his head to the voice, finding Aki standing by the door, a basin in hands.

He stepped in, setting the basin on the small table beside the bed and taking a seat. Reaching out to help him on to a seated position, Aki pulled up the pillow against the headboard for Yeran to comfortably lean against.

"How do you feel?" He leaned closer, peering into his eyes.

Yeran blinked, trying to concentrate on what he is saying.

"Hmm....your pupils aren't dilated anymore, do you have a headache?"

Yeran shook his head, mind still muddled enough to not focus on anything quite.

"Does anything feel uncomfortable?" Aki asked, unconvinced.

"Head feels heavy," Yeran rasped before coughing harshly. His throat feeling like sand.

A hand appeared in his vision, pressing a cup against his lips, the slow trickle of water was almost heavenly. It was cool, but not cold. Yeran coughed, thirst not quite satisfied, but Aki had already turned away to fill another cup. Yeran emptied the second cup faster, finally feeling a bit more awake despite the soreness of him body.

"You shouldn't have so much liquid just after having a concussion, it will make you nauseous, let the water settle in before having more" Aki said, almost as if reading the request in his eyes.

"Concussion?What...where..where are we? What happened? " Yeran looked around, mind becoming lucid enough to pay attention on minute details.

The room was small, wooden, barely big enough for the bed he was lying on and table near the headboard. It was humble, poor, he can say.

"What do you remember?" Aki asked.

"I was in my room? Getting ready for bed, then I heard a sound and then.. " he trailed off.

"Assassins?" He asked.

"Not quite, whoever it was that planted those traitors, they were alerted of our awareness after the cook was arrested. An attack was launched about two and half hours after midnight, but that attack was just a ruse, their main purpose was to kidnap you." There was an emotion in Aki's eyes that Yeran failed to understand.

"Then how did I..?"

"We rescued you," Aki replied.

"We?"

"We," other voice almost startled Yeran, focused as he was on Aki.

Ruth was leaning against the the door frame, hands crossed over his chest.

"Your highness," he inclined his head in slight surprise.

"Was it Mehera?" Yeran question, glad to have someone he could say he trusted, at least partially, at his side.

"We are...unaware, your highness, the head cook commited suicide before we could even start questioning him, he had a poison on his person our soldiers were unable to dictate in their search," Ruth replied.

"Or someone killed him to protect their secrets" Yeran mused out loud.

"Possible, given the fact that they so easily overpowered the fort as well, which should not be possible if the soldiers had been on full guard." Ruth nodded.