After the War's End

Chapter 4

"¡Aloy!" he jumped in surprise upon realizing that she was in the room, almost causing the towel cinched around his waist to fall off. Quickly, he hastened to cover his torso with the towel he had been using for his hair, his shoulders tensing up "I-I thought you'd be downstairs, in the p-pantry..." he stammered, growing redder by the moment.

"Well, I'm here..." she responded, making an effort to keep her gaze on his eyes and not on his body "And thank goodness I came back early. Who did this to you?" she asked, approaching him and pointing at the injury. Avad couldn't even look at her, feeling thoroughly embarrassed.

"Mmmm, what...?"

"Don't play dumb, you can't hide it anymore, I've seen it. Were you planning to keep it to yourself? Weren't you going to tell me? Have you informed anyone?"

"You've huh... seen the... wound." he said, now feeling doubly uncomfortable, rubbing his neck with his hand and his gaze fixed on the floor.

"Yes! How could you hide something like this?!" she exclaimed, grabbing the towel he was hiding behind.

"Aloy!" he protested, embarrassed, his cheeks burning and reddened to his ears "C-Can I... get dressed?"

"Put on a pair of pants right now and tell me EVERYTHING, don't you dare hide anything from me, understood?"

"Well... I... okay." he said as she left the room, urging him to hurry. When he was alone, he brought his hands to his head. The cut on his sternum not only hurt, but it also wasn't healing.

"Avad, come on, time is of the essence!" Aloy startled him from the doorway, giving a few knocks. He hurried to put on some pants.

"I'm ready." he timidly announced, still covering the wound with the towel. She swiftly entered the room and, grabbing his arm and pulling him, she sat him down on the bed. The king was surprised by her strength.

"You gain nothing by hiding anymore, Avad."

"But..." he protested, trying to get up. She held onto his shoulders, preventing him from rising.

"Don't move."

"Alright, alright, you win, but please close the door." he pleaded. "We're in a difficult moment, people need to see their king in good shape, I don't want them to get discouraged if they see me in this state, there's still a lot to be done..." Aloy closed the door and sat down next to him. The storm's fierceness hit the windows, breaking the silence around them. They gazed at each other until he couldn't withstand her reproachful look any longer and lowered his gaze. Nora took a deep breath before instructing him to lie down. Without protest, the king obeyed.

"Let's have a look..." she said, approaching him to assess him once she regained her composure. "Can I touch the wound?"

"Y-yes." he stammered. Gently, Aloy placed one hand on his forehead and another on the wound to compare the temperatures. The monarch shuddered at the contact with the open wound. It stung. Nora could tell that the cut was quite warm. Furthermore, when she withdrew her hand, it was stained with blood. "I was afraid it might be something serious, but there were too many people to attend to..." he explained, concerned.

"I understand that you worry about others, but this kind of wound is very important to treat promptly. One or two more days, and the damage would have been... irreparable," Avad's eyes widened.

"B-but there's a solution, right?" he asked, frightened.

"Yes, you can relax, I caught it in time." he sighed in relief. Nora rummaged in her backpack until she found a yellow plant. "What happened? How did you get a wound of this severity? These kinds of cuts don't just happen."