After the War's End

Chapter 20

Aloy woke up cuddled next to Avad, noticing that he was still holding her. He was lying on his left side with his head tilted towards her and his mouth slightly open, emitting small snores. She looked at his currently relaxed expression for a moment, relieved by the peace that had finally settled in after the challenging night they had endured, and gently stroked his dark hair. His heart beat softly and slowly, and his caramel-colored chest rose and fell calmly with each breath. Fortunately, he hadn't experienced the same thing again, but he still needed to regain his strength. Then, she thought it would be best to get up before he woke. The last time she fell asleep on him, Avad got very nervous... The huntress concluded that she had already had enough excitement in those days, so she preferred not to disturb him. Carefully, she moved the arm that encircled her and got out of bed, but not without taking one last look at the king. Afterward, she kissed his forehead and tucked him in warmly before changing into fresh clothes and leaving the room. Avad needed to rest, and certainly, she needed it too after the night she had, but she decided to go out hunting and then return early to be with him.

Hours later, he woke up still tired and somewhat disoriented. Despite having slept through the night, he felt exhausted, and he knew why. While he groaned, he rubbed his face with his hands, thinking about what had happened in his nightmares and reliving some of the situations that had occurred in them. He sighed slowly opening his eyes, hoping to have regained clarity in his vision. Fortunately, that was the case. He examined what little he could see. He looked at the palms of his hands and then the backs of both. One was full of scratches, and the other was splinted. He tried to move it but regretted it instantly. He lamented with a sigh, thinking about his return to the palace, but all the images were jumbled in his mind. Moreover, he felt his body numb, and his muscles were stiff, so he stretched while grumbling, feeling pain with each movement he made. Then he noticed that the pillow was wet. He turned to see that the towel Aloy had placed on him the day before for his fever and headache. Fortunately, he hardly felt any pain now. He looked up, but Aloy wasn't there. Judging by the light coming in through the window, it was quite late, around noon, and she had probably left a long time ago without him noticing. Under different circumstances, it would have been wonderful to sleep next to her, but he barely remembered anything from the previous night. He sighed. According to what his counselor had said yesterday, Erend would come to check on him that day, and now that he was fully conscious, they would start asking him questions. Questions he didn't want to answer. Overwhelmed, he put the pillow over his face and groaned desolately, muffling the sound in it. He sighed heavily as his empty stomach rumbled. Avad placed both hands on his belly as he looked around for something to satisfy his hunger. He found nothing, but coincidentally heard the sound of his door opening.

"Avad! You're awake! How are you feeling?" Aloy entered the room, asking, while pretending not to be aware of what had happened the night before. He smiled, not just because she didn't come empty-handed, but because he was enjoying her company once again.

"It's only been a couple of minutes since I woke up. Did you go hunting?" Avad asked, avoiding giving a direct answer, noticing how dry his lips had become.

"No, I felt like moving a bit, but since I took quite a beating yesterday, I've just been gathering some plants." she answered with a smile while resting her hand on her injured ribs. "Look, I brought you something for breakfast." Aloy moved closer to him and sat on the bed next to him. Avad carefully examined the tray she was carrying. There was a glass of warm milk, a red infusion that gave off an appetizing aroma, and a sweet roll that looked delicious.

"Oh, that looks great. Thank you very much. What's the infusion made of?" he asked as he inhaled the pleasant scent.

"It's made from wild ember, which I gathered this morning. I hope you like it," she replied kindly. "It'll help you regain your strength and ease the pain."